


Blackguard

by Egyptianmaus



Series: Blackguard [1]
Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Mystery, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Violence, War, mature themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:34:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 44,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25574416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Egyptianmaus/pseuds/Egyptianmaus
Summary: Dead smack in the middle of the Edonian war, Catherine is caught up in the mystery of who created the C-virus.  But who can help her escape this war-torn city than the BSAA Alpha team themselves? The only trouble is, alpha team has their guard up around her, and she knows why. Catherine must fight to find out the answers to the c-virus, but along her way, she might discover clues to her forgotten past. She can't do this alone. Is Piers willing to help this known criminal even though everything is telling him no? If so, why can't he forget about her?Join Catherine as she discovers more than she may want to know about herself, and Piers, who learns not everyone is who they seem to be.
Relationships: Piers Nivans/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Blackguard [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1853461
Comments: 24
Kudos: 11





	1. Blackguard

**Author's Note:**

> Dead smack in the middle of the Edonian war, Catherine is caught up in the mystery of who created the C-virus. But who can help her escape this war-torn city than the BSAA Alpha team themselves? The only trouble is, alpha team has their guard up around her, and she knows why. Catherine must fight to find out the answers to the c-virus, but along her way, she might discover clues to her forgotten past. She can't do this alone. Is Piers willing to help this known criminal even though everything is telling him no? If so, why can't he forget about her? 
> 
> Join Catherine as she discovers more than she may want to know about herself, and Piers, who learns not everyone is who they seem to be.

After the J'avo burned away, it left the office in eerie silence as I waited to see if more had heard the commotion. I held my breath and counted down from thirty before deeming it safe and removed my disguise. The blazer rolled over my black jumpsuit and swished to the ground to join the pencil skirt and discarded heels. Undercover work is a pain in the ass, but it gets the job done easier than rushing in guns blazing.

The ancient architecture of the building held firm against the modern world, but it wasn't without fault. The echo of my footsteps continued slowly down the hall as I surveyed the rot forming in the nooks and crannies. It was plain to see where patches and repairs were made to the old building over its long lifetime.

Dust twinkled in the dull sunbeams like the snow outside the windows. The roar of gunfire and men's screams outside seemed to fade away when the door I was looking for came into sight.

The new pungent odour hit me in the face like a wall. Rotten. Repulsive. Gross. I could smell the maggots ripping into the rotting flesh and the dirt clogging the wrinkles on what's left of the man's face even before seeing it. Even with the ventilator, I wore, it couldn't mask the foul stench. The keys came quickly off his keychain on his coat. My lungs burned with much-needed breath as I stepped back into the hall and made my way back up the other wing to the offices.

Sweat slicked the back of my neck as I took in the sight of the war once more. The J'avo fired off and rained down on the BSAA like a poison, showing no mercy to the soldiers. So much blood—innocent blood spilled over someone's greed. Whatever information is in this room, I pray it can help them.

The key slid into the lock with a click and opened with a squeak. Tiptoeing inside, I found the desk at the far end of the room. My heart rate skyrocketed as I skimmed through the remaining emails left behind.

_They want answers. What are you planning? Where are you? The strains you gave me work perfectly...aside from a few flaws, but I know you're working those out. Email me back ASAP._

_D.C.S._

At the bottom of the email was a symbol like a four-point star done up in a rope texture. I skimmed back over the email a few more times and always paused over the three initials at the end. _D.C.S._

_Who is that?_

Another email was salvaged from the mess of data.

_My dearest Ada Wong... Jake Muller has been located in the Republic of Edonia. Your mission is to find out if his body has antibodies to the C-Virus. We cannot allow a vaccine to be produced. Agent Birkin has been sent in to acquire the target. Your job is to ensure they escape the country alive. Good luck._

_D.C.S._

_This is the second time Ada has been mentioned in correlations with the C-virus. I thought I was mistaken back at the Marhawa academy, but I guess this proves what I saw._

The summer memories came rushing back; students screaming hit me full force to the chest, knocking me back a step as I waved the memory off. The fear in their eyes as their dead friends stood back up and attacked them is forever ingrained into my mind. _They were innocent. They didn't deserve that...no one did._

The look in their eyes—the BSAA—struck a chord in me as well. Their anger— _hatred_ —for me as if I was nothing but a monster in their eyes...it—

"Freeze." The sound of a click cut the air. "Hands where I can see them. Move slowly and turn around." A masculine voice growled out behind me.

I did what he asked and turned to face the man slowly.

His piercing gaze glistened from under his heavily hooded eyes and over his gun. The green military uniform enforced those memories into the front of my mind, where I couldn't escape it. As soon as our eyes locked, the malice in his face let up and was replaced with recognition.

"You were at the Marhawa Academy back in the summer."

"How did you know that?" _That's impossible. Only the three agents saw me, and one of them is dead._

"We have a photo of you in our database." He straightened up and took out some handcuffs. "You're under arrest for involvement in the bio-attack at Marhawa Academy."

"That's ridiculous. Under what pretenses?"

"Eyewitness reports."

"Bull." I stepped away from his hand and levelled with his glare. "I didn't do shit."

"Then you shouldn't have any issues telling that to the heads during your court hearing."

There was no other option. I swatted the gun out of my face and landed a punch to the man's shoulder and finished it with a kick to his chest. He fumbled over with a cry while I bolted past him and backed out into the hallway.

It didn't take long before his bullets flew past my head and smashed through the windows as I escaped down the hall. The BSAA member cursed and yelled, screaming for me to stop. I didn't want to hurt the man, but if he left me no choice. More bullets pelted the hall along with angry screams.

_J'avo._

They scrambled down the hall towards me with weapons in hand.

"Fuck!" I swirled to the side, pressing myself to the wall while gunfire bombarded me from both sides.

A new string of curses rose, and it was coming from the other side. The BSAA member held his ground among the group of J'avo, sandwiching me between the fighting with nowhere to run.

One broke from the group and charged the man, ignoring me as he ran passed. I raised the gun and planted three rounds into his skull, dropping him at the man's feet. I watched as the creature crumbled away into nothing but ashes. _Just like back at the academy._

Something flashed through the BSAA soldier's eyes as he watched the J'avo crumble away then flicked his gaze onto my own. We both nodded. No words were needed as we raised our guns towards the J'avo and finished them off, but more scrambled the halls.

"We gotta go!"

He replied with a curt nod and shot the legs of the leading J'avo out, causing the others to trip and stagger. With the bought time, we pushed ourselves through the rooms and down the halls. Walls and windows whipped past our faces as we maneuvered through the maze of the building. 

"This doesn't change anything!" The man panted and threw down another J'avo mid-sprint. "You're still under arrest when this is over."

"We'll see about that."

A shadow appeared through the room to my right. My shot rang out, knocking the J'avo off his feet and making his arm explode into an insect limb, but my disgust would have to wait as more enemies emerged and blocked the exit with guns at the ready.

"Shit." I cried out and grabbed the soldier's jacket, and flipped us behind a pillar as the onslaught of bullets ripped and tore at the pillar's side.

"Fuck! They blocked us off!" I fired off, toppling one more over and slid back behind the safety of the pillar.

"This is Ricky Jones. I'm trapped inside the Queen of hearts, along with a suspect in the Marhawa incident--the nun--the one spotted by Captain Redfield and Lieutenant Nivans. We need back up!" The man barked into his earpiece.

"No, we don't!"

"You got any better ideas?"

"Yes." The flash bomb on his vest glistened in the light. Ripping it off him and the pin, his scowl staggered when he caught on.

"What're you doing?"

The explosion blew the J'avo back and ripped open the doors, leaving us a clear path to escape. "Let's go!" I grabbed Ricky by the sleeve of his jacket and yanked his behind me as we bolted towards the door.

The explosion was big, but some J'avo still survived and crawled back onto their feet with angry roars. Luckily, Ricky shot them down. Good. My gun was nearly empty. I used my knife instead, slicing through the J'avo in a frenzy.

Ricky reached the doors first as I finished off the remaining J'avo. He tossed the broken doors open and pivoted around. The white of his eyes grew visible as he straightened up. The gunshot rang out, cracking the air and knocking Ricky off his feet with a cry.

"Fuck," My hand snatched up his gun and fired off at the J'avo while my other hand latched under his arm and hoisted a groaning Ricky to his feet. "Keep moving!"

"Look out!" He shoved me away just as the explosion sounded off.

The pressure threw me off my feet and slammed me into the side of a car. I hit the pavement with a cry as the glass rained down over me. The ringing in my ears wouldn't let up as I crawled to my knees and blinked back the bright lights in my eyes.

The body beside me laid unmoving. The stench of blood seeped through my mask and pricked my nose, and dropped my stomach. Ricky's lidless stare and bloody face burned into me. Shaking his shoulder didn't stir him. Crap...

_I should have moved faster._

Gunfire pelted the car, breaking me away from the moment and forcing me to run. The last thing I did was send out a message to the BSAA for my coordinates. The least I could do for them after what Ricky did for me. _Not like it will change anything._

It was easier to think now that I got out of that building, but those emails scraped at my mind. Ada was there at the Marhawa academy back in June. She caused the outbreak, but I didn't want to believe it, and now I'm being blamed for it.

_What's wrong with her? Why do all this?_

The symbol at the bottom of the email played across my mind. I've never seen it before; a roped cross in the middle of a diamond. It's my only lead. But now I had to find a way out of here.

The war raged all around me. Gunfire, explosions and screams melted together into one fucked up symphony of death, and the real villain in all this was orchestrating it all. With no direction in mind, my feet lead the way. Everything looked the same; destroyed roads and buildings with men and J'avo running amuck. There was no choice but to blend in with the shadows—too many eyes searching for me and even more, enemies wanting me dead.

The gunshot came out of nowhere and clipped the side of the wall, sending debris everywhere and spooking me behind the building. My attempts to hide were futile. Another string of bullets ricochets at my feet and over my head. There was no other choice; I had to make a run for it.

The sniper's gun sounded off again and again, but none could land a mark. Everywhere, men were there with their weapons up. Dozens of them screamed or yelled incoherent things to the other while running my way. They spotted me. The window of escape was closing, and I only had two bullets left to protect myself. I had to keep running.

The tank rolled forward and out of the shadows and fired off one shot, going high overhead but still destroying the building behind me. My legs finally buckled, sending me tumbling to the ground in a screaming heap as the next shot hit closer. Debris poured down on me while the dust settled over like a cloud. A yelp escaped my mouth when a chunk of concrete hit my shoulder.

My feet wobbled under me, and the dust whipped at my eyes. The sound of the tank reloading clanged as it readjusted its gun cranked through the air. Getting behind the tank was the only option to escape. I can't waste time.

The shot rang out, the sound making my ears ring as I charged forward. My heart raced as I looked down the barrel of the tank's gun. The gun shifted and fired, sending up a spray of dust behind me. Using the broken down wall as leverage, I jumped on top of the tank and rolled down the back. Tingles erupted over my body as I made my escape. My heart lowered from my throat and backed down as I turned the corner.

It was a small victory, but far from the last. I'm still stuck in the middle of this war zone with no way out. With the immediate threat behind me, I slowed to a fast walk and took in the scene around me. There was no opening; no exit and little hope left.

"Alpha team come in." The radio in my ear chartered away. "Our teams are spread too thin right now to offer you assistance."

_I can't get out on my own, but with the aid of the BSAA, I can waltz through. If I can follow them, I can stick close behind and let them do all the dirty work for me._

Now, I just find out where the alpha team is located. They have to be close enough for my radio to pick up their signal. My ears opened as I listened for any sounds that stuck out. Heavy gunshots came from a street over to my left, followed by the screams and yelling of men.

I grabbed the broken lad; my feet dug into the side of the building as I grappled up to the roof to get a better view. It was just as I thought. Tanks rolled through the streets, setting up along the ridge with heavy artillery set up on the roofs, while other men patrolled the buildings and side streets. That's when my eyes drifted over to the overturned BSAA truck.

Men in green gear returned fire upon the insurgents with military precision--or BSAA precision. The insurgents--or J'avo--were steadily being pushed back and killed off, but the wall of snipers and reserves was going to give them a hard time. It was impossible to see their faces from this distance, so I jumped down and started my pursuit closer, making sure to stay out of sight.

It was luck when a dead insurgent laid out on the ground with his rifle nearby. Upon picking it up, I noticed the still half-empty clip. Grabbing it with me, I continued to a closer advantage point to lend a hand to Alpha team.

I counted four snipers along the wall and possibly two more hidden out of sight. Moving along the street, six BSAA members bobbed along the shadows firing off at the enemies. Captain Redfield stuck out among the rest with his built figure and squared-off face, and beside him, I recognized his lieutenant. He held off the snipers with his rifle, but they were overpowering him quickly.

Marhawa flooded back into my mind like a plague. The lieutenant's face is as bright in my memories as I see him now. The same anger is carved into his eyebrows as they were when he and his captain held off the BOWs and Bindi while I escaped in the chopper.

I shoved the memories aside and secured a spot above the wall and aimed for one sniper. The sniper above the lieutenant flung back and burned away with a cry as my shot hit. My scope fixed over a sniper aiming at the preoccupied Lieutenant. The gunshot cracked the air, and the sniper's skull wide open as he fell to the ground with a cry. My interference wasn't going unnoticed any longer, and the Lieutenant's confused face and radio transmission confirmed it.

"Alpha team to HQ...did you bring in those reinforcements?"

"Alpha team, all teams are spread too thin to offer assistance still. Hold on a while longer."

"Then who's covering us?" The lines went quiet for a moment but started up again when I fired off a shot that took down a J'avo coming at another alpha member.

"There they are again! Who's covering us? We need more assistance!" A member asked through the gunfire.

I set up again between a blown-out wall and scoured below for any more snipers or enemies. Two more enemies flooded inside the building Captain Redfield and the lieutenant were currently cleaning out. I held my breath and steadied my arms by the open window and fired off one shot as a shadow darted by, striking down the enemy closest to them. Hearing the shooting and the gurgle from the enemy, the lieutenant shot around and finished it off with one blow. He flicked his eyes out the window in my direction; he couldn't see me from where I sat, but I still shrank away when his eyes surveyed the area.

"Thanks for the cover," He said through the radio. The breath from my laughter puffed back into my face from the mask at his remark. If he only knew who it was covering him, a thank you would be the last thing out of his mouth.

The two men made it out of the building and over a balcony connecting to the small watchtower. I'm sure the hidden snipers were taken care of but still kept my eyes peeled for anymore.

Unease settled in my spine as the ground rumbled and shook; it even caught the attention of the alpha team below. All our gazes flicked towards the row of buildings as a gigantic BOW showed up and squeezed through them like it was nothing, and scrambled into the street.

"Holy fuck—" it let loose an ear-splitting roar and honed Captain Redfield and his lieutenant in its sights.

It lifted one of the BSAA trucks as if it were a pillow and hucked it at the two men. It missed them, but not by much, and slammed into the balcony and crushed it under the weight. I lost sight of the two men as they leapt off the other side, but knew they were okay when Captain Redfield's voice started on the radio.

"Finn, we need those armoured trucks in here—now!"

"I'm on it!" A young man's voice, probably Finn, answered.

The BOW smashed through the balcony and clambered down the street and started after the two men. As I moved to a new spot, the sounds of gunfire and the creature's pained screams filled the air.

Shadows darted through the blown-out building while gunshots ricochet around the area. The lieutenant was surrounded. He aimed his gun at the nearest J'avo and didn't see the other one rushing towards him with a large knife. My shot sent the J'avo over the ledge of the building with a scream, alerting the lieutenant in time to notice the approaching BOW. He dodged to the side as the BOW's hand came crashing down and taking out a part of the building.

All eyes turned to the armoured trucks breaking through the metal fence a little ways off from the fight. The heavy ammo pelted the BOW until it stumbled back with a cry and roar. It stood no chance against it and retreated down the road where it disappeared.

The rest of Alpha team met up with their captain and lieutenant and started after the BOW. While I picked up my gun and followed suit, making sure to keep out of sight as I advanced on them.

I didn't know the BOWs could get to that size! _Ada, what monstrosities have you created? And why?_

A barrage of bullets began pelting the men and blocking their advancements. A horde of J'avo surrounded the team; they came at the men with knives and guns. They were sitting ducks out in the open.

My shot dinged off the tanker near the J'avo's truck and set off an explosion. The impact took out most of the J'avo and confused the rest long enough for the alpha team to finish them off in one final swoop.

Everyone took the win, except the lieutenant. He held back from the rest of the team and scanned the area with deep-set brows. His frown carved into his face like stone. He turned to his captain and uttered something, but I was still too far to hear what was said. The older man nodded and let his eyes slink across the buildings before retaking foot, with the lieutenant at his back, still scanning the area.

I began to shrink away and move ahead but stopped when I saw the lieutenant's eyes snap and lock on to my position. The shadows covered me mostly, so I don't know how much he can see, but I'm not taking any chances. I ducked out of sight and started down the street little ways in front of them. I hope I'm not wrong about this.

Alpha didn't make it too far down the road before they were blocked in once more by an overturned train car and a bunch of J'avo. It didn't look good for them or myself. The train car is blocking our only way out of here. Kneeling behind an overturned truck, I followed the team's movements.

I locked on to one of the BSAA members closest to me, I didn't recognize him from other encounters over the past year, and one look at his face told me he was young. He was busy trying to set up the explosives on the train car and hadn't realized the J'avo pulling the pin on his grenade behind him. I lifted my handgun, but it clicked. Empty. I cursed and dove out from behind the truck and started towards the soldier.

"Behind you!" My knife buried deep between the J'avo's eyes, throwing it to the ground as the young soldier jerked up and tensed as I slammed into him, knocking us off our feet. We tumbled to the ground as the explosion detonated, sending debris raining down atop of us. My ears still rang as we climbed to our feet, his wide eyes settled on my own. "Get the explosions set. I'll cover you."

His mouth opened and closed until finally, he nodded his head with a jerky movement and got to work.

Something hard and cold-pressed into my back, the faint click in the air sent my nerves into a frenzy. Spinning around, my eyes met with the business end of a gun and on the other side, two seething, brown eyes and a nasty attitude that doubled as soon as our eyes locked. " _You_!" The Lieutenant growled.

"Look out!" I shoved him out of the way as a J'avo charged up behind him. Ignoring the click of his gun going off, I slammed my foot into the J'avo's chest. It stumbled back, and its head exploded into a mess of flesh and teeth as it roared and dashed forward. The crack of a gun going off echoed beside me and threw the J'avo to the ground.

The Lieutenant kept his gun raised and pointed at me. Anger radiated off him as his eyes locked onto mine; I could feel its heat from where I stood. The breath in my lungs stifled as I realized my predicament. J'avo and men alike that would love to put a bullet in my head surrounded me with no way of escaping. Other members of the team finally took note of my presence but were too preoccupied to do anything about it. Their eyes dug into my face as I waited for the lieutenant's next move.

"The explosions are set!" The young soldier yelled. "Everybody take cover!" His eyes flickered between the lieutenant and me, his demeanour crumbling as he took in the sight.

It was now or never. I took the chance and bolted towards the young soldier and grabbed his arm. "Come on!" I yelled and dove to the other side of the train cars.

The last member squeezed under just as the train car came crashing back down, blocking us from the horde of J'avo. The victory went unnoticed as the lieutenant ripped up his gun and fixed it to my head.

"Captain, it's the nun from Marhawa Academy."

Captain Redfield followed the lieutenant and shifted his gun onto me, followed by the rest of his team.

Slowly, I raised my hands. I hardly breathed as all eyes jabbed into me. "Listen, I can explain. I'm not your enemy.

"Who are you then?" Captain Redfield probed.

"My name Is Catherine. I was sent to Marhawa Academy as an undercover agent to look into the activities going on at the school." Well, not a complete lie, I guess. I _was_ there undercover...just not as an agent.

"Who do you work for?" The Lieutenant piped up.

"National Security. I'm undercover right now and in charge of investigating what's been going on here. I've found some connections to the Edonian BOWs and the ones found at the academy."

It looked like the Captain was taking the bait, but it was the Lieutenant giving me a hard time. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. "You killed one of our team members."

It took everything in me not to collapse then and there. The voice took some of the heat off me and displaced it over the bridge down below. A tank rolled across the bridge, shooting down BSAA soldiers trying to hold it off.

"It was a misunderstanding. I was aiming for the BOW, but the helicopter moved. It was never my intention to hurt your team."

"Bull," The lieutenant hissed, "I saw you there. You're not an agent--where's your badge then, huh?"

A new voice sounded over the radios. "HQ to alpha team. The city hall is on the other side of the bridge. Pick up Bravo and move in. They got a man down on the bridge."

True enough, a tank rolled across the bridge, shooting down the BSAA soldiers trying to hold it off. Flames licked the sky like a beacon, giving us ample view of the blown-out tanker and the injured body trying to crawl away from the fire. "I meant what I said--I didn't intend to kill one of your own. I was there undercover and didn't want to blow my cover by getting involved with the BSAA. Please, I only intend to help you."

Captain Redfield looked as if a war was raging inside his mind at that moment. His eyes narrowed, and they sized me up until he finally spoke. "Fine. But after this, we still need more answers."

My grin could barely lift the corner of my mouth before the lieutenant jumped in. "Captain? That's not a good idea. We don't know if she's even telling the truth."

He didn't even try to keep his voice quiet as he expressed his strong distaste to me. I held firm and plowed through. "I'm good with a gun. Just put one in my hands, and I can help. Those men down there can't wait any longer for you two to work this out. I'll be more than happy to answer all questions _after_ we rescue those men."

"You're in no place to be giving out orders here," The lieutenant took a threatening step towards me. "I don't trust you _or_ your intentions."

"She saved me from the J'avo and covered us while we were fighting off the hoards." The tiny, soft voice of Finn piped in, earning him a death stare from the lieutenant. He shifted away and clamped his mouth closed.

"Enough," the captain snapped. "Piers, give her a gun and take her to the building. Keep an eye on her, and _if_ she does something, you know what to do."

"Cap--" He shut his mouth as the captain shot his glare towards the lieutenant, then took the team and turned towards the bridge without another word. His back grew smaller as he disappeared towards the enemy line. _So, this is the legendary Chris Redfield? He lives up to the rumours._

"If you even think of trying anything funny, I won't hesitate to shoot." The lieutenant's growl shook me from my thoughts.

"Let's just get your men to safety first, lieutenant."

"When we finish with the bridge, you answer _my_ questions."

I rolled my eyes and jumped across the gap leading to the tower and kept up the pace. "Sure thing, mutt."

"What did you just say?"

It was physically painful not to roll my eyes at his attitude. Luckily, another BSAA member approached us, giving me a reason to ignore the idiot beside me. He gave me a funny look but didn't say anything about it as he turned to the lieutenant. "We need the snipers on the roof." He handed me an extra sniper rifle, which I gladly took. "Cap called ahead and told me to give you that. Good luck."

The lieutenant was quiet as we made our way through the building and down the old, stone hall. His gaze would routinely shift over to me every few steps. Left. Right. Left. Flick. Frown. Keep going. Left. Right. Glare. Left. Right. This time, I couldn't stop my eyes from rolling. I kept my mouth shut; Better to remain silent than give him anymore doubt as to my intentions.

When we finally made it to the top of the stairs, we met another soldier already scouring the activity on the bridge. "You can get a clear view of the bridge from here. Captain Redfield's safety is in your hands now. I'll go and start clearing a path." He gave me one last look before retreating down the stairs. I followed his back until it disappeared, and the annoying lieutenant piped in with an annoyed huff.

"Are you going to help or just stand there and waste my time?" He stood by one of the posts with his gun at the ready, and his eyes shifted over his shoulder, where they scrutinized me. I strolled up beside him without a word and loaded my rifle and began to aim.

"Your shoulders are too tense. Relax them."

My mouth snapped shut, and my teeth ground together to stop myself from snapping back a reply. Instead, I took a calming breath and fired off, hitting a J'avo gunner in the shoulder and knocking him off his feet.

_This man, I swear to God, could lead a monk to drink if given a chance._

"It was you covering for us earlier, wasn't it? Why didn't you just come out and show yourself?" He asked between gunshots.

"Is this your idea of small talk?"

"No," he scoffed, "It was just a question."

"If I recall correctly, you said you were going to question me _after_ we clear the bridge and get your men to safety. Or did you lie, _Lieutenant?"_

Captain Redfield's voice over the radios cut off his glare and gave me a reason to turn away. "I'm gonna need a bigger gun."

"If you draw the tank out, we can take care of that problem for you," I answered back.

"How the hell did you answer that? Are you hacked into our radios?" The lieutenant snapped.

"It's not my job to do that...I just follow orders from National Security. Maybe they have an understanding with the BSAA. Besides, it makes helping you guys a lot easier." I choked on my breath as he snatched me to his feet.

"No, no, no." He shook his head repeatedly. "I _knew_ you were lying. You're not here to help us--you're not even with National Security!" His hand tightened around my bicep.

"You're fast to judge."

"I have good reasons to."

"I said I'd answer your questions, but only after we get your friends to safety. The tank is out in the open."

His fists clamped tighter around my bicep before he dared to flick his eyes off me, and towards the tank captain Redfield drew out into the open. "Our guns aren't going to cut it." He spat just as the tank moved further up, revealing the tanker behind it more.

"Now, they will." I grabbed the gun and took the shot, hitting the tanker dead on. The explosion swept across the bridge and even whipped my hair back as we watched the enemy go up in flames. I could still feel the lieutenant's heated glare burning the side of my face as I watched alpha team continue onward.

"Nice shot, guys." The captain praised over the radio.

"We should get down there and give them a hand--" his hand tightened uncomfortably around my bicep once more, reminding me he wasn't finished with me just yet. "I'll answer one question right now if it makes you happy?"

"Who do you work for?"

"No one. I'm doing this on my own."

"Why?"

I smiled and plucked my arm out of his grasp. "Ah, I said just one, for now."

"Stop playing games!"

Our radios clicked on, and captain Redfield's voice broke through. "Finn, I need you up here!"

"I got a wounded bravo, go on without me!"

"No one gets left behind. Can anyone get to Finn?"

This time, I answered back. "Yes. I can get to them. Give me a moment." I turned back to the lieutenant. "Let's just focus on getting everyone out of here alive, okay?"

He pushed past me, clucking his tongue and swearing, but continued down towards the catwalk and the bridge.

_Charming. Pain in the ass--but charming._

"Are you listening?"

"Yeah. I was just blocking out your nagging."

The veins on the side of his head twitched, "I said get down the ladder--I'll cover for you."

"Just don't shoot me, okay, mutt?"

"You know what--" Whatever it was he was going to say died on the roaring of the winds.

My feet wobbled along the small landing below him, and my eyes scanned the scene for Finn and the wounded soldier. I spotted them down below me, on the first level of the bridge with the bravo tucked behind him. J'avo fired at the two men as they hid behind some wreckage for cover.

My attention turned to the stray J'avo climbing the ladder down above the men; his gun glistened in the sun as he picked it up and took aim at the rookie. My shot rang out, hitting the J'avo and knocking him off the ladder and down below where Finn sat. His head popped up and studied the body, then flicked his gaze up to me. With a thumbs up and a nod, I started to make my way to him.

I patted across the metal support beams and dodged stray bullets when a scream erupted behind me. The J'avo rushed up so fast; I didn't have time even to blink. The gunshot rang out, punching through the J'avo's skull-like glass, and nearly nicked me in the face. "Ah!" I yelped as I jerked to the side and watched as the J'avo fell to the level beneath me. My glare flickered off the body and up to the lieutenant as he lowered his gun with a smirk.

_Asshole._

Deciding to ignore his antics, I jumped down beside Finn and laid a hand over his shoulder. "How is he?" I asked as I studied the bandaged wound on the Bravo member's side.

Finn jumped at my presence but brushed it off with a heavy sigh. "He's hurt badly, but he'll survive. The J'avo are closing in on us, though, and he can't walk."

We both jerked back as an explosion on the other end of the bridge sounded off, blowing away the debris of the separate tank. Another armoured tank emerged from the smoke and wreckage and began firing. "Well, you're going to have to carry him then. That tank won't wait for him to heal."

"Enemy reinforcements!" He cried.

"I'll cover you. Take the guy and get a move on, the team can't hold that tank back for long."

While he placed the bravo member on his back and started retreating, I held off the J'avo, trying to sneak closer. My gunshots rang through the noises of war. Single shots rang out from behind me and struck down the J'avo I couldn't see.

_Well, at least he isn't shooting me...yet._

Another one of the lieutenant's shots snapped the air and ripped through a J'avo to my side, killing it immediately.

The gunfire above us seemed to have tripled after the tank blew through. From this level of the bridge, I couldn't see what was going on. I picked up a discarded grenade and hucked it at the oncoming enemies and bolted for the stairs where Finn and the bravo were and reached the top level of the bridge. It was even worse than how it sounded.

Gunfire from J'avo came from everywhere--even the sky as they rained down in parachutes from reinforcement planes. I covered Finn as he made his way slowly behind the safety of our barriers and settled the bravo down.

A cry broke from my lips as my hair yanked back, and a knife pressed to my neck. The J'avo's breath breathed down the side of my face like dirty trash in the sun. In an instant, blood splattered my face as the J'avo snapped back its neck. It collapsed into a heap at my feet with a grunt. I breathed a sigh of relief just as the lieutenant's shadow cast over me.

"You let your guard down."

"It was a one-time accident. Thanks for the help."

"Hm," He grunted and resumed firing without another word or glance in my direction. "Finn, we need those charges set!"

"I'm on it." Finn raced ahead of me and into the thick of the fight and began setting the charges.

"These assholes just keep coming!" I said between shots and ducking away from punches thrown my way.

"Don't talk. Just shoot--duck!" The lieutenant's body-slammed me to the ground as a massive explosion went off. The heat from it crawling up the side of my body warmed me momentarily while I tried to get my bearings back.

"Geez, you don't have to crush me. A simple shove would have done the trick." I said and pushed the man off me.

"A simple thanks would suffice after I "shoved" you out of the way before that railgun blast hit you,"

Finn's scream cut our argument short. The young soldier fought and yanked at the rubble covering the lower portion of his leg, but nothing he did could free him. "Finn!"

"He's stuck!" I cried and began climbing over the barricades and ignoring the commands of the lieutenant and the captain for me to fall back.

Ducking and blocking, I made my way over to the young soldier. The cement pinned his leg, but with an extra shove, we dragged him to his feet. "You good?"

"Yeah, but I dropped the charge." I ducked my head when another blast from the tank sounded off and landed not far from our location.

"The two of you! Get back here!" Our radio crackled with the captain's roars.

"I dropped the charge!"

"Dammit. Hurry up and find it. The tank is getting too close."

"There it is!" I cried.

"Wait--"

The bright light blinded me, and the loud crack of the explosion drained out any voices. The weight of something massive crushing my legs took my breath away as pain flooded me. My heart hammered away into my ears, and the fog in my brain cleared as I attempted to stand up but failed. Pain flashed through my body, exploding into my legs and hips as my hand felt around. The wet and cold chunk of debris felt gritty under my hand as I stared around. A hole is all that was left of the tank, the gurgling of the icy water below told me it was its grave forever.

"Hey! Finn!" My attention snapped to the other side of me, where the BSAA stood. The blurry shape at the edge of the hole shimmied across the gap and flimsy beams while the rest of the team yelled for him to get back. All eyes were on the rookie as he jumped across and landed beside me.

"Hold tight; I'll get this off of you." His gentle hands cupped my shoulder and gave it a shake.

"Finn! Careful. The support beams are giving out!" His captain yelled while holding back some enemies that survived the blast.

The groan from the support beams caused the men to freeze. "Finn, I'm fine. Get back to the other side. These beams won't hold much longer."

"No one gets left behind," Was all Finn answered with as he tried pushing the debris away.

"Finn..." The heat in my chest clenched, and even though he couldn't see my smile, it still shined with admiration for the boy.

Slowly, the slab started rising off me, giving me hope we could get out of this. I lent a hand and heaved up on the piece and wiggled myself out from underneath. Already, the bones and tissues in my leg were starting to heal, giving me more energy to move.

The slab dropped with a loud bang. My sight turned into a scream when the platform gave way under me.

The icy water came into view, then someone snatched at my wrist, stopping me from plummeting down. Finn clutched at my wrist like a dying man clutching to life.

The wind ripped through me as I dangled off the bridge, making me shudder. My shoulder burned from hanging, but I gritted through the pain as I tried to reach up with my other arm, but it wouldn't move.

"I got you. Don't worry--I got you," Finn repeated as he attempted to lift me but failed.

"Finn--"

"I won't let go--don't worry. Give me your other hand!"

"I can't...it won't move." My eyes locked on to the crumbling platform under him as the weight of both of us wore it down. I met his stare with a smile, even though my mask hid it from his eyes. "Let go. I'll be fine, but if you fall, you'll die."

"No...no one...is...expendable!" He said through gritted teeth and laboured breathing.

The platform crumbled and cracked under him while his team screamed orders we both ignored. My hand started to tire and slip with the blood covering it.

My breath stilled as his grip let go, and I was airborne. Finn's voice broke the deafening wind like a silent scream before I hit the icy water. Pain engulfed me from head to foot like a boa constrictor dragging me down the darkest depths and strangling the breath out of me.

The surface grew smaller as my vision faded. Images crashed down on my mind like a ton of bricks. Children in small cages screamed for their mothers while more bodies laid on the ground in blood. It all crashed and changed into a blurry picture of one boy with tear-stained eyes and hollow cheeks. His silent screams stirred something deep within me. It was the final flash of a man in sunglasses that made me scream, and my lungs burn for air. 


	2. Tall Oaks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone! sorry for the delay in this chapter, I was out of the province for a week helping my brother move lol. But I'm back now with another chapter for you all. It's a little longer so I hope it makes up for the delay! Sorry for any grammar errors and such, I tried going through it a few times but I might have missed some. Please rate this chapter when you're done and leave a comment on what you think!!

The cold bars of the cage dug into my shoulders, making my flesh prickle. The size of the cage made it impossible to stretch out and ease the cramp in my legs, I thought, as I twisted and turned to relieve the pain in my knees. The cries of the others did not affect me any longer. They cried and moaned, sounding both far away and right next to me. The dryness of my tongue felt like sandpaper as it swept over my chapped lips. The endless cycle kept on hurting.

Mossy-brown eyes cried out for me through sunken cheeks. His hollow face no longer showed any signs of the tears he cried; they dried a long time ago, just like the bodies. They didn't remove them. The smell and sight faded away days ago, or maybe I just don't have the energy to care.

My heart hammered in my ears as cold hands dragged me away. I didn't recognize the reflection of the little girl staring at me from the man's sunglasses. His smile was anything but kind. I missed my cage. A thought I'd never even imagine thinking, but this man scared me more than bars and needles. This man wasn't alive, but the heat from his breath fanning over my face told me he was something more. He was a monster.

I couldn't take the red glint in his eyes anymore, I shoved him away and spun around, only to be stopped by a wooden door. Long gone were the cold cages and dark rooms and children's cries. A black nun's robe hung off me like the lies of sinners at church. Voices spilled out of the room.

"I can't find her! It's been two days since I last saw her. Shouldn't we call the police?"

"We will not be discussing this any further, Bindi. Get back to class." _Bindi...she was one of the girls from the desk incident a few days ago._

"No! Not until you look into this!" She stamped her foot.

"Not another word. Get back to class. Don't make me tell you again." _That voice. I know it, but who? Who?_

I was yanked out and away from the door. The sun warmed the chill out of my bones. The smell of fire irked my nose and stuck to my face as I rushed by.

"FIRE! FIRE IN THE EAST WING!" People— _students_ screamed. Their face's slack as they stared at the building up in flames.

"Don't you get it? She's burning the evidence!" The young man's eyes slid onto me as he ran through the crowd.

The dust and ashes in my hand crumbled as my fist tightened at my side. The smell of gasoline polluted the air and stung my eyes. The nun's disguise I wore clung to my skin as the fire grew hotter.

_Answers. I need answers. The young man and the professor have them._

Shadows played across my eyes—the blurry faces of two men chattering as I watched on. The older one spoke up, his head shaking. "Right now, we need to call someone to clear out these bodies. I want to take a closer look at this sample. If only my phone worked here, I'd call the BSAA in a second. Chris would handle this without a hitch."

_Chris? Chris Redfield? Yes—I remember._

The evidence on the USB was going to be enough. I had to get out of here and take it, but take it where again?

The gunshot whipped by my head as I escaped through the window. Confusion blinded me as I cocked my head back and spotted the man in military green lowering his gun. His towering figure and hardened eyes locked on to my own. _Chris._ There was no time to play around and ask questions. I can't jeopardize my mission. I have to get to the extraction point.

Leaping down to the balcony, I spotted the hooded figure again. My gunshot rang off and shot the hood down. Ada's eyes locked with mine, and a smile played upon her lips before the horde of zombies surrounded her.

"Ada...why?"

_No time!_

_Keep going._

The mobs of dead students were ruthless. Blood soaked their tattered uniforms head to foot—their blood and blood of their friends. More resistance came my way when two more people clad in military-green uniforms cut me off. Hazel eyes glinted over his scope as he aimed. His shot missed me, allowing me to escape through the main garden.

The dead swarmed below me like a sea of bodies as the chopper pulled up, but something perked my interests ahead. Another helicopter rose from the adjacent roof, with figures in green racing towards it. Something big raced towards them, hot on their heels. Nanan? Yes, it was her.

Her mind lost for good; the only thing still in it was anger. She attacked the small group of survivors, whipping her mutated limbs around and throwing debris. Slowly, one by one, the green-clad individuals climbed inside the chopper. The man with hazel eyes jumped on next, ducking as Nanan raced to stop them from leaving. The final person got on, but Nanan latched onto the chopper and pulled it closer, desperate to kill them.

Nanan appeared in my scope, her arm latched higher up on the chopper, pulling her closer to the last survivor, a young woman by the looks of it. The crack of my gun going off sounded over the chopper blades above me, but Nanan jerked, yanking the chopper with her. My bullet struck the woman high in her chest and knocking her back. "Fuck!" I heard myself curse as I took up aim again, this time, hitting Nanan in the head and knocking her off. While she fell, those hazel eyes burned into me. _Piers_. He latched on to the dying girl in his arms. His eyes...his eyes could have melted the skin off my face.

_It was an accident._

I was yanked again.

The wind whipped across my face, and my shoulder burned as I dangled in the air. Finn's eyes squeezed with pain and fear. His mouth clamped shut as he struggled to keep hold of me. I slipped. Panic flooded his face as I grabbed at the air and started to fall.

My hand darted out and clutched at the arm of the couch before I could tumble off. Cold sweat poured off my forehead while I gasped for breath.

Another bad dream. Another restless night. Ever since Edonia, all I could do is sleep in fits and ask myself questions. _Why was this all happening?_

The cold from the floor seeped into my feet, distracting me from the pounding headache forming in my head. I rested my head in my hands and focused on my breathing. I'm tired. I was tired of it all; the nightmares, the figures haunting every waking moment of my life, and the unanswered questions. All I got are dead ends and more questions than answers.

The open files on the coffee table mocked me. Dead end after dead end. Month after month. No information on those emails or those symbols. All I _do_ know is Ada is involved. She's been involved since Manhwa Academy, but why?

"The re-elected President Adam Benford has been claiming he will be giving a speech later this week, Saturday, June 30th, in regards to the bio-terrorist attacks." The reporter on the news chatted away on the television. "Nothings been mentioned, but he did want everyone in America to know how important it is..." Out of habit, my eyes slipped up and over to the screen. "Ivy University is honoured to be hosting the presidents' speech this coming weekend..."

The reporter stood at the gates of what looked like an old stone entrance. The sign _Ivy University_ over her shoulder was mounted on the stone wall. That's when I spotted it. It was so insignificant, yet it blew me out of the water. There, carved from the limestones and hanging over the front entrance of Ivy University, a four-pointed star...with a rope texture. There was no doubt about it, _that_ was the same logo attached to the bottom of the emails.

"Ivy University...America." I breathed.

_The sender of the emails is from America._

A glance at the bottom of the screen read _Tall Oaks._ Not a place I'm familiar with, but a little search can tell me everything I need.

After hours of searching and scanning through historical facts, I finally got a broad idea of everything. Ivy University, a prestigious school in America, was co-founded by a group of men back in the mid-eighteen hundreds, one of which continued to fund the school until his death. The best part? Photos of the man can be seen with him wearing a ring with the same symbol on it.

The emblem is associated with an old cult named _The Family_. Their association in history, though mostly unknown and hard to prove, is quite prominent. The kicker? One of their founding locations is said to have been in Tall Oaks. The only thing I can't seem to locate is any names, but maybe when I'm there, I can dig up more information. My luck is finally turning around.

* * *

**Tall Oaks**

**June 29th**

The constant sound of car horns and the smell of car exhaust was bringing on a pounding headache. Not even my water could get the taste of gasoline out of my mouth. How do people live in the cities? There is never any silence or clean air to breathe. I coughed as a cloud of exhaust hit my face.

Paying the traffic jam of vehicles little time, I kept up my pace down the sidewalk. It seems like everyone came down to watch the speech tomorrow. Police controlled the traffic while smarter people—including myself—took to walking. The blazing summer heat pounded on my head, making the hair at the back of my neck cling to me.

My mood took on a better turn when the sign to my left read, _Ivy University._ I immediately recognized the old stone gates where the newscaster reported the other day.

"Watch it," I snapped as a man ran into my shoulder, knocking me a step back. The look of terror in his eyes as he looked back at me made me stop in my tracks. He continued to run as a scream broke out among the crowd.

Other people around me froze as the sounds of screams intensified. Their eyes locked up ahead from where the man came from. Others started to flee and scream. Some ran to the nearest shops; all of them had the same look of fear in their eyes as the man did. It was blind, panicked fear.

People slammed into me, shoving me to the side as they made a run for it. Some abandoned their vehicles and took to their feet to get away faster. Policemen screamed orders into the void, but no one listened. Their screams ricocheted off the buildings and battered my ears. It was the first gunshot that screamed over the masses like a crack of thunder, startling myself and some of the people around me into a bigger panic.

I shoved through the crowds of screaming and crying people and dug out my gun from my waistband as I made my way to the center of all the panic. Police officers drew their weapons towards a figure. I froze at the sight of it.

The creature's pale, yellow-green skin stuck out amongst the greys and reds of the city streets. Lanky limbs clawed at the air, latching on to one of the policemen with its claw-like fingers and let out a foul blue toxin, covering the victim head to foot. He coughed and gasped and fell to his feet while clutching his throat.

My feet moved on their own, curious and horrified at what was happening. The man's face morphed into disgust and fear. Red marks from his fingernails dragging down his throat looked raw and painful as I grew closer. Another officer came to his aid, but couldn't get the man under control. Gunshots cracked the air as the other policemen open fire on the creature. It swung out in anger, bashing in the skull of an officer before making its way towards another.

The injured police officers' screams broke off into moans and growls as his skin turned an ashen white, and his mouth hung open as his hands fell to his side. He whipped his head up and stared around. The whites of the other officer's eyes pierced through his darkened face as he stumbled away. His slacked expression morphed into terror as the injured officer lunged for his fellow officer, sinking his mouth over his throat. The sound of flesh ripping and the man's gurgled cries cut off in an instant.

The officers took notice and shook their heads in anguish as they stumbled back. All of them were too scared to jump in and stop the attack. The man feasted upon the officer like a ravaged animal, ripping and tearing away flesh like it was his last meal. It snapped it's head up when my shoe hit a rock across the gravel. A deranged roar fell from its lips before it charged me. His fingernails ripped up the gravel under him, and his mouth frothed, and his teeth snapped as he ran my way. I hesitated only a second before throwing my gun up and firing one round between his eyes, dropping him in an instant.

People around me froze as their eyes continually darting between my gun and the body at my feet, and the monster wreaking havoc around them. Their screams spilled out as they clawed their way through the crowds and away from the scene.

I paid them no attention as my gaze locked on to the corpse at my feet. Blood dripped over his eyes and nose from the gunshot wound, leaving a nasty hole through its head. His eyes looked even more cloudy and bloodshot up close, and a foul odour leaked from his skin. Zombie.

The creature let loose an obnoxious screech and excreted more of the toxic fumes into the crowds of remaining people. Their wheezes and coughing set my nerves on end. I fired off at the creature, but it only made it angrier. It lashed out and screeched again and charged me. My gunshots pelted its face and torso, but it only slowed it down. More toxins reeked into the air as I ducked out of reach. More people inhaled it, but they took off running before I could stop them.

Finally, one of my bullets cracked the things skull and dropped it by my feet, throwing up dust and foul odour in the air. There was no time to examine the creature closer when the wheezing and coughing from the people subside and growling took over. Their bodies twitched uncontrollably, and their milky eyes dragged up and honed in some stragglers. Their roars and growls cut the air as they took off after them.

_Time to go!_

My body weaved between the abandoned vehicles as I fired off at the zombies racing my way. _Just like the ones in Manhwa. Running and quick movements. What kind of zombies are these?_

A small figure crouched out of the corner of my eye, catching me off guard. Her tear-stained eyes and blotchy face sent a pang into my chest. She couldn't have been more than four years old. When she saw me, panic seized her, and she hid behind some crates, but when she noticed I wasn't going to attack, her small voice cracked out, "mommy?"

"Where's you mom, sweetheart?"

"Julie? JULIE!" The girl lit up, her relieved smile cracking her lips as a woman ran towards her, knocking me to the side as she ripped the little girl up in her arms. "Get away from her!" She yelled at me, but her anger melted into fear as the moaning and groaning of more zombies found us.

The little girl cried out, alerting the zombies.

"Damn it. Get out of here! I'll hold them off!" I yelled and shot out the legs of the zombies rushing our way. The mother froze to the spot, her eyes training on my gun and the zombies struggling to their feet. "Move!" My voice reached her at last. She jumped to attention and took off down the alley. With them gone, it was easier to focus on the rest of these freaks running my way. "You bastards..."

My clip was almost empty, and yet the zombies were still coming in swarms. With one last shot, I bolted and didn't let up until I was down the main street.

The symphony of death was at its height, and with no end in sight. All around, people screamed and cried, and gunshots rang out with the mixture of growls and roars. The midafternoon sun has long past, and now it sank towards the horizon. My shadow leapt across the deserted buildings and burnt cars as I snuck around a parking lot in search of a vehicle. Within the span of a few short hours, the city was turned upside down and soaked in blood—just like Manhwa academy.

I pushed those memories to the back of my head and spotted an abandoned car with the door ajar. The driver's side window was smashed, and blood smeared across the seat and around the back of the vehicle. I didn't bother checking to see what was at the end of the blood trail. Instead, I climbed inside and gave a silent prayer as I found the keys still jangling in the ignition.

The car started up quickly, but the sound alerted the attention of a mob of zombies feasting on what appeared to be the body of a young man off to my right. They rose to their feet and dashed towards me with their arms stretched out. The car took off like a bullet, hitting one zombie and dragging it under the tires as I made my escape. The running bodies quickly disappeared out of my rearview mirror as I hit the main street.

_If these are the same zombies I encountered in Manhwa, then that could mean Ada was behind this attack as well?_

Whipping past me, the remnants of the bustling city stood aflame. The screams of the innocent clawed at my ears as I drove past. Some people waved me down in a desperate attempt to survive. I held my breath and kept my eyes on the road ahead of me. Their curses turned into screams of agony until I couldn't hear anything anymore. I wanted to squeeze my eyes closed and try to wipe everything away, but I needed to drive.

_Is this related to the president? What was his speech going to be about? Is it tied to all this? All these questions and no answers to them._

I hit the steering wheel and cursed as I kept up speed.

_I wonder if the BSAA will get involved with this?_

Manhwa came back with a vengeance. Nanan's roars and my gunshot echoed in my mind. Flashes of hazel eyes burned into my soul as the dead woman lay lip in his arms. _It was an accident._

A person ran out in front of the car, catching me off guard as they waved their arms rapidly. I didn't have time to hit the breaks or swerve. I choked back a cry as the body hit the front of the car. The wet thunk of her head hitting the windshield sent out a spray of blood as I lost control of the wheel. My Screams of uncertainty melted into screams of panic. The car went over the guardrail and down the side of the hill.

The world whipped by me as the car rolled down the hill, like a sock on a high-speed tumble dry. Over and over, I turned, the sky and ground melted together until I couldn't tell which way was up or down. The car came to an abrupt stop, slamming into the side of a tree. I flung around in my seat, hitting my head against the door. My arms dangled lifelessly, and my head pounded from the assault. The feeling of bones and muscles stitching together woke me out of my trance, and the smell of burning oil tickled my nose. I pride my eyes open, regretting it immediately as the world spun around me. I held down the acid building in my throat and blinked around me.

A growl kickstarted me. The sound of the accident drew out four zombies, and more were sure to come. My seatbelt let go, dropping me onto the roof of the car with a yelp, irritating the healing breaks in my bones as I wiggled out from the broken window.

My thigh was only partially healed. Any weight I put on it, dropped me back to the ground with a cry, alerting the zombies of my location. The only option was to crawl. The flames from the car licked at my back as my elbows dug into the long grass, hiding me partly from the zombies.

Their growls of irritation sent my nerves into panic mode. Their feet stumbled around as they sniffed the air to try and locate me in the grass. My leg finally healed, but if I stood up now, the zombies would find me.

My body froze in place as one came up behind me and sniffed the air like a dog. It's head bobbed around from side to side as it sought after my scent. Like a magnet, its eyes found mine. In a frenzy, the zombie let loose a blood-curdling cry, but before it could make a move, the car exploded, catching the zombies in its wreckage.

Using the explosion as a distraction, I picked myself up and bolted for the treeline. The zombies screeched and roared from the licking flames, some crawled out of them and still tried to pursue me even with half their body missing. Only one thought hammered into their heads as they lay there dying—again, _feed_.

With enough space between myself and the wreckage, I switched to a light walk and kept my ears open for any sounds. I still had no idea where I was, but with the thick bush and trees all around me, it might be on the outskirts of the town. Just as my thoughts finished, a clearing emerged. The city lights in the distance bled through and poured across my face.

_So I was on the outskirts of the city, but how do I get back on the road?_

In the distance, the silhouette of a building stood out against the skyline. The towering peak and stain glass windows on the front were lit a warm yellow, giving the old Cathedral an unholy feel.

The crack of thunder and the lightning strike lit the sky above me. The sheen and constant pelting of rain followed suit, soaking me to the bone and souring my mood. Count on it always raining to make my nights worse. The grumbles and cries of the zombies behind me grew louder once more. Without another thought, I bolted towards the Cathedral.

Tombstones slicked from rain, and overgrown moss stood silently, the erosion on them telling their age. Statues with their stone smiles watched me as I hurried across the grass. With the only light coming from the lightning, it made maneuvering the graveyard a task.

"Whoa!" My feet dug into the mud, skidding to a stop and teetered over the edge of an open grave.

The corpse inside clawed and snapped at the air, trying to get a hold of me. Rotting flesh wafted off the thing, open wounds and bones shined in the dim light, and its eyes were nothing but hollow sockets darker than the night, stared up at me. Slowly, I pushed away and kept my eye on the creature as I passed by.

_The hell is going on around here?_

More screeches reached my ears as bodies staggered and ran towards me. Hollow eyes dug into my face like a ghoul of death. I bolted over the tombstones and shot out the legs of one of those corpses, but the others continued to charge me.

Mounds of dirt and tombstones slowed me down as I zipped through the area. More bodies appeared in the dark—their mangled limbs dangling by their sides as they chased after me with blood-curdling screams. I shot again when something grabbed my arm, throwing off the corpse as it reared with anger.

Dodging the assault, I found some stairs down into the maze of above-ground graves. "Great."

The yells and cries propelled me forward. A corpse appeared from the right, and whipped its arm out, hitting my shoulder and knocking me into the wall of one grave with a groan. Teeth flew my way, chomping the air in front of my face as my hands held it back. A kick to the midsection knocked it off, and a bullet kept it down. The moment didn't last as more came after me.

The maze of graves gave me the advantage. Winding through them and behind, I lost sight of those dead freaks long enough to catch a breath. The back of my head rested against the wet, cold concrete of the grave while I worked on levelling out my thoughts.

The grave in front of me came into focus. Behind the dark and heavy rain, I picked out an old stone door with a symbol in the middle. The star with rope texture stared back at me. _Impossible._

My shaky hand traced the symbol with awe. I gave the door a yank, but it didn't budge. "Damn it!" I cursed and stepped back to take it all in.

Something was off with the symbol, I realized. Each corner had a cylindrical hole above it, about the size of my palm. On closer inspection, a tiny symbol was at the base of each hole: the symbol of the Alpha and Omega, the Fleur-de-Lis, crossed keys, and an eye.

_Are they clues? Keys?_

My knowledge of these things isn't great...I only recall reading in passing the Fleur-de-Lis is a symbol for kings—their divinity and right to rule. What would that have to do with this symbol? And why in America? It's a french symbol. Alpha and Omega is pretty straight forward, same with an eye—all-seeing, but the crossed keys?

My head swayed. I'd have to get back to those later. First, I need to find these symbols. I hope they're somewhere in here. Each hole is cylindrical, so maybe it's an object I need to find.

* * *

The graveyard is filled with more horrors than I could have imagined. I brought down another one of those creepy corpses and took off around the bend. More of their inhuman screams followed my tail, but I didn't slow down to finish them off. My ammo is dangerously low already, and I can't afford to waste more bullets on them. The gravel flew up under my feet as I came to a stop and got ready for another fight.

The corpse lunged at me, snapping its mouth in the air as I kicked it away. Before it could get back up, I kicked in its skull, staining the statue's feet a dirty red. My eyes dwelled on the statue as I caught my breath.

The man with the curly beard and long robes stared down upon me. The plaque on the statue's feet said _St. Peter_. His soft eyes and upturned brows gazed down at me with an ever so slight tilt to the side of his mouth. The artist must have poured his blood sweat and tears into this piece. My attention shifted to the two keys secured in one hand, their gold texture glinting in the poor light. My hope soared. The symbol on the side of the keys matched the one back at the door.

I got closer and inspected the hand, clasping them. There was a slight difference in colourization. Excitedly—yet gently, I grabbed the hand and twisted it, to my surprise, the stone moved with a scraping sound and locked. The hand opened up, and the keys rolled towards me. Fascinated, I grabbed the object and noted they weren't keys; the top portion was indeed two crossed keys, but they moulded off into a long cylindrical object. Turning it upside down at the base were two crossed keys engraved into the stone. Grasping it tightly in my hand, I doubled back to the door to investigate. Hopefully, my idea was correct.

I stood in front of the door with the object in hand. My head swayed as I inspected the symbol at the bottom, and then the symbol in one of the holes. They matched. The object slid perfectly inside the hole, causing a sound to erupt from the door, but yet it remained closed. I stared at the other three holes with the symbols inside them and connected the dots. _I need to find the other three keys to open the door._

I should try searching for the fleur-de-lis since it would stick out a lot better than the others. Turning back on my heels, I brushed my wet hair out of my face and began my search for the symbol, but paused as I spotted a shovel leaning against an open grave. _Could use it as a weapon for now._

The worn wood slid through my hand as I tested a swing. It was heavier than I expected, which is good. It'll pack a bigger punch. Armed, I set off again through the graveyard.

* * *

Monsters loomed in every shadow and behind every turn. Blisters formed in my hands as I tried yanking it free from the corpse's skull, but it was jammed deep inside, forcing me to step on the things head and yank it out. It released with a wet crack. I've been searching for the second key for what feels like ages with still no luck. I don't even know where I am. I twirled around, checking every area to get an idea of where I wandered off.

_This graveyard is massive! Or maybe it just feels that way since it's dark and raining._

I prepared for another fight when a shadow came into view, but relaxed when the virgin Mary's face took light. The tomb she knelt over was so old the name had practically faded away. The only thing I could see was the year 1734 engraved under the moss and grime along with the four-starred symbol like on the door. I stared at Mary's hands; in them, she held the fleur-de-lis as an offering to the owner of the grave. I knew what to do, and when her hands opened up quickly, I gave an excited huff as the stone cylinder was released. The base of the object had the symbol, just like I thought it would.

_Two down, two to go._

I searched with more enthusiasm. Every step I took a little faster than the last. Even the monsters couldn't slow me down. When the small stone building with stained-glass windows appeared, I immediately made a B-line for it at a fast jog.

The large shadow cut me off. The creature spasmed and twisted, and the asthmatic sounds coming from it only creeped me out more. The thing's neck looked as if a tumour had grown inside. It pulsated red and purple as the thing wheezed. There wasn't a lot of time to stare before it's erratic breathing started to quicken and loudened. It exploded into an ear-splitting scream, making the shovel clatter at my feet as I covered my ears from the loud sound.

"Damn it! What the hell?" It bolted towards me, giving me little time to reach for the shovel and swing. It only hit the side of its shoulder, knocking it off balance for a moment. More growls and moans started appearing around me. Shadows and skeletal figures appeared behind the creature. "Great...it brought friends," I grumbled as I prepared for another long fight.

The first thing I did was whack that annoying screaming banshee over the head, cracking its skull open and sacking it to the ground. The others won't be as easy to take out, though. One darted towards me, clawing the air and snapping its jaws. They met the metal end of my shovel before it could get too close. Another one scampered over; its jerky limbs sent goosebumps up my arms as it leaped forward, catching me in the hip and throwing me to the ground. It fell on me, grabbing fistfuls of my hair and clothes as it tried to bite me in the face. The shovel laid off to my side and out of reach. Using my forearm to prop the creature away from me, I pulled my gun out and fired one shot into its head and threw it off me. One more of those things heard the shot and dashed, but another bullet put it into the ground.

"Three bullets left..." I checked the clip and holstered the gun once more before taking up the shovel again. _It's going to take hours to scrub this dirt and shit off me when this is all done._

My mind shifted to if I wanted strawberry body wash or sweet lavender as I approached the small altar. The prospect of a hot bath was overshadowed by the time I entered the small building. My footsteps clunked off the stone walls as I neared the altar and laid eyes upon the stained-glass circling every wall. At the top of each section was an eye staring down at the altar silently, like a ghost.

The stone was cold under my touch as I swept the altar for any marks or signs. I paused over the top of the altar and traced my fingers over the stone eye engraved right in the center of the table. The iris of the eye stuck out a little further, enough for my fingernails to grasp underneath and yank it up. The sound of stone scraping electrified the air, and when the small cylinder popped out, the air snapped. At the base of the cylinder, the stone eye was carved. It stared up at me coldly like the rain outside. _Three down. One more left._

* * *

The alpha and Omega symbol was a lot tougher to find than I thought. I searched the graveyard and near the entrance, but couldn't find any symbols or any clues. The side of the Cathedral came into view, the warm glow from the lights inside engulfed me and momentarily stopped the chill coursing through my body. The cold came back when voices started spilling out from inside. The harder I listened, the more I heard.

Footsteps and people's voices, whispering and chattering away. Through the window, I spotted shadowy figures moving back and forth inside. The rain muffled their words, but their hushed and hurried voices didn't sound right. Panic and uncertainty flooded them.

_What are they doing here? There must be at least fifteen people inside. Are they survivors? Or are they responsible for the horrors in the city and graveyard?_

I wanted to learn more about them, but right now, I have other matters to attend. I pulled away from the window and stopped. My eyes travelled up, up, up, pausing over the symbol stained above—a symbol of the Alpha...right there in front of me. My hopes perked once more. I searched for the Omega symbol, but couldn't find it anywhere. I pattered around the courtyard and the Cathedral, but couldn't find the symbol anywhere.

Out of the corner of my eye, a small opening was partly hidden by the overgrown shrubs. My feet took off towards it without a thought. The trail emerged and bent and twisted around until an opening appeared. An ancient statue of Jesus Christ himself stood in the middle overlooking the graveyard and like a silent guardian. Beneath the statue's feet, the mosaic symbol appeared, the omega symbol. _Life and death; the beginning and the end, I get it now._

I scanned every inch of the statue for the last key and found it in his hand, the holy cross. I ripped it out and turned it upside down for confirmation. The small symbol was there, right at the bottom. I clutched it tightly to my chest and started back to the door. Those creatures had a different opinion on the matter.

The shrill screech threw me into gear. I took off through the graveyard. Their moans and heavy asthmatic breathing beat down my neck as I maneuvered the labyrinth of tombs and statues. Hands reached out, but I tossed them off and kept up my run. Gunshots are what made me gaze over my shoulder.

Two blurry bodies swept across the area with determination and force, their gunshots lit up the night and echoed over the downpour. Two voices, one distinctly female, screamed out, "Leon!" followed by more shots. I didn't stick around to see who they were, might not be friendly.

With the door now in front of me, I placed the keys into their rightful spots and stood back as the mechanical locks creaked to life. The symbol in the middle turned like a dial until it clicked, and the door popped open. The damp air hit my face, along with the smell of mould and dust. I gagged.

"Did you hear that?" The two voices grew louder once more, their footsteps racing closer towards my location. I had to act fast. "Over here!"

I jumped inside and grabbed one of the keys on my way. I watched as the door clicked closed behind me just as the footsteps skidded to a halt on the other side.

The key fell from my hands and clanked on the tiles as my eyes scanned the long, dark hall set out beneath my feet. My foot sank under one tile, sending up another click. My body jumped to attention, ready for a fight, but all that happened was the torches on the side lit up in unison, lighting up the area nicely.

"Home-y..." I muttered as I started down the hall.

* * *

The tunnels, if I could even call them that, were a mixture of old and new; stone and wood. They reeked of mould and wet dirt. The torches lit the walls and displayed the ancient symbols adorning them, some I recognized from the keys to the door and some I did not. My stare lingered along with the symbols as I passed, leering at the star as it popped out under the grime and dirt. The dampness in the air clung to my wet clothes and chilled me to the bones.

My feet ground to a halt, threw an echo off the walls and startled me. "Great," I groaned and studied the caved-in section blocking my way forward.

The stones covering the route were too large to move by hand, and the gaps were too small to squeeze through.

_There must be another way._

The light from the torches reflected in the massive puddle to my left, where it looked like another tunnel used to be. The pile of rocks confirmed my suspicions as I studied the area. A shadow in the puddle caught my attention.

Ripping one of the torches from its spot on the wall, I studied the puddle closer. "What the hell..." It didn't look like a puddle; it looked like pillars in the reflection, but what pillars are reflecting into the water?

Tentatively, I poked the water, half expecting to feel the ground, but my curiosity grew when I submerged my hand, then my elbow...my eyes popped as the water lapped up to my shoulder, and yet, I still couldn't feel the bottom. I Reeled back with a huff and let my legs slip inside as I teetered on edge. Sucking in a lungful of air, I closed my eyes and dove into the water.

The coldness knocked me back a moment before I readjusted. One of my eyes cracked open and took in the underwater sight. Weeds and other vine-like vegetation sprouted through the cracks in the stones and swayed in the current. Those pillars I spotted continued in rows down the destroyed steps.

Using them as a guide, I followed them down deeper where no light reached. My chest tightened and screamed out for air, but I pushed on faster. My fingers clawed at the walls, tearing off the layer of grime with it as I searched and felt for a gap. The pain in my chest turned to fear as the blackness took hold and spun me around.

" _She's still alive?_ " The disembodied voice asked. " _Excellent. Put her through faze two._ "

I snapped around, trying to find the owner of the voice. Flashes of metal tables, needles and fuzzy faces bombarded my mind every time I moved. Their crooked smiles and sharp teeth glinted in the dark, but their eyes remained hidden from sight.

Their voices raised and snapped, but I couldn't tell what was being said. The anger in their voices twisted my chest. The blackness consumed me and pulled at me from every angle.

"No one gets left behind!" Finn's hand jabbed out of the darkness, reaching out to me like a beacon of hope. I snatched on to it and grunted as I pulled myself up towards the orange, flickering light.

My lungs cried out as I broke through the surface of the water with a gasp. All the voices silenced as I let go of the wood beam and collapsed onto the cold stones while I caught my breath.

The chill in the air made me shake. I wobbled to my feet and swept my hair out of my eyes. I shivered as I stared back at the black water.

_I hope there is another way out of here._

Shaking off the remaining jitters, I took in the sight of the cave. It's massive. It swept up forever and stretched into the shadows beyond my eyes. Old wooden bridges swept across the water and wrapped around the stones poking out of the black water and into the shadows. I caught sight of what appeared to be a door at the other end.

The aged wood creaked under my feet as I started across the first bridge. My breath caught as my next foot stepped down, I tensed as the creaking grew louder, but the wood held. Satisfied it wouldn't break, I pushed forward. Everything confused me about this place; why was it here and under a cathedral? Who made it?

The vehement splash exploded behind me. Twirling around, I wobbled from the sudden movement. The cracking of the boards under me ripped the scream out of my chest as I hit the water. My head broke the surface with a cry as my eyes darted around the area. Something large cruised along the surface of the water towards me, disturbing the water as it went. It was hard to tell what it was, but I didn't want to wait to find out.

There was only a rock closest to me. My legs kicked and pushed at the water towards it, kicking harder as the sound of the creature racing towards me gave me a burst of adrenaline. It was gaining ground on me. My erratic breathing blasted my ears. My shaking hands clawed at the stone as I got a grip on it. The splash sounded right behind me. With a final jump, I latched onto the rock and heaved my body up.

The monstrous shark launched from the water with its mangled mouth wide open. The crack of its mouth snapping shut by my head made me freeze. Its milky eyes and gnarled face thrashed about while squid-like limbs poured out of its mouth and fused to its face like a molten mess of arms grasping and clawing at the air. It slid back into the water with a roar, breaking the trance it had me under.

I scrambled to the side, but my hand slipped, sending me crashing back into the water. "Fuck!" I sputtered as water filled my mouth.

The fin sliced through the water, making a U-turn straight for me. My heart jumped into my throat as I kicked towards the other end. A tentacle snapped and whipped the water above my head like a crack from a gunshot. The fin darted by and cranked around, turning waves over in its path. It flew from the water like a bullet, missing me as it slammed into the side of the rock with a crunch. It did little to slow it down, but it gave me an opening to swim away.

My muscles screamed for a rest, but there was no time. The fin broke the surface again and started on its pursuit. Its mouth broke open even more, revealing rows upon rows of teeth swirling inside the mess of flesh of its mouth. My get-away was closing fast. I honed in on one spot, a ladder below the bridge on the far side. I paddled faster. The blood rushed to my ears.

The shark let lose a painful roar; more limbs punctured through its flesh like a web. It darted forward and lunged. One of the tentacles wrapped around my ankle as my hand grabbed the ladder. In an instant, my knife was out and hacking and slashing through the limb. I ducked as another shot out and punched the stone with enough force to crack it. It hardly fazed me as I continued to cut through the flesh. Black blood sprayed out across my face and body as the shark cried.

Its body continued to mutate and grow into a gigantic pile of unrecognizable flesh. My knife sliced through, releasing its hold on me and throwing me back into the ladder with a grunt. The shark recoiled and rushed forward, biting and yanking at the ladder, throwing me around like a rag doll. I clawed my way up to the top where the rusted clamps held tight to the wall. With the remaining strength I had, I jumped up the remaining step and rolled out of the way. I skirted away at the sound of the shark's angry roars of protest and backed myself down the small entrance to the door.

The handle turned with a clank and swung open revealing metal walls, and matching floors painted an eerie green from the lights above. Tabled lined with computers and lab equipment were packed tightly by the far walls. My fingers left a thin trail through the layer of dust lining them as my eyes skimmed over the charts, loose papers and medical tables in the middle of the room.

The bright light shined down on the table, lighting up the metal restraints, claw marks and dried blood staining it. "What is all this?"

Glass tubes filled to the rim with liquid and large limbs stood hidden near the right wall behind a thin drape. They looked familiar.

The head, with multiple eyes, stared through me. I was pulled back to my memories of Edonia and the J'avo. The insectoid limbs in the other tube confirmed it. "So, this place is connected to the C-virus, then?"

The computers in the lab held lots of information and missing puzzle pieces. Data and testing and research filled the screens—data on a virus, "C-virus no doubt. What the—"

Files with names and dates popped up, all of which I didn't recognize, all but one; it was in a few emails.

_Ada, I've given you the updated results, why haven't you responded?_

_D.C.S_

"That means Derek Simmons had been doing testing too—right here." I scanned the room one more time as if just noticing it then and there.

The more I searched, the more I found out about Ada's involvement with this, and Simmons tied everything together, but I still couldn't find any answers on _why_ they did it.

Files kept mentioning a place called _Lanshiang_. I never heard of it before, but it's been mentioned at least a half dozen times in the archives. I stopped over a project file named _Project Ada_. It was locked with a password.

"Damn it. Oh, well," I plucked in my USB to the computer and started to copy the files over, "I can figure it out when I get out of here." This should be enough for me to track her down to a location anyways.

The roar cracked the air, and the whoosh of something whipping past my head made me jerk away. The medical table flew past my head and slammed into the computers, breaking them apart into a hundred pieces.

The creature stood over seven feet tall and had a gnarled up face carved up like a rotten jack-o-lantern that smelt just as bad as it looked.

I reached for my gun and grimaced—only three bullets left.

The creature's impatience reached its limit. It let loose another roar, ripping through the air and splattering the ground with black spit. It charged me full force.

The first shot hit its shoulder. The second shot struck its jaw, throwing it back a step with a cry. I jumped on the counter and planted my foot on the creature's head and flipped over it, and bolted through a door.

Other labs swept past me in a blur; glowing computer screens with that vile red and white logo in the center of them all mocked me over the rage from the BOW behind me.

My feet pounded over the steel grates; my breathing hitched as the rapid footsteps behind me grew louder and closer. I grabbed the support beam and swung out. I yelped as the BOW latched onto my leg and whipped me into the railing with a growl.

I dodged to the side when it thrashed out a limb, striking the railing in half and whipping it over my head into the water below. Black ink or blood dripped from its skin; it stunk like a foul odour of rotting flesh and waste. I ducked almost too late when it slashed out again, with the other half of the railing gripped in its hand like a bat.

I took off down the grated path at full speed and held back my scream as I heard it charging after me. My head snapped around, and my eyes widened as I saw the railing flying towards me. I jumped into the water and slid down the small tunnel and kept up my pace to try and get as far away as possible, but the thing is persistent. The breath in my lungs froze. Pain erupted in the side of my head and my shins as I slipped through a rusted out maintenance hole cover under me and slipped down inside.

My screams drowned out over the rushing water, and I tumbled head over heels down the shoot until I managed to get my balance back, but my relief was short-lived as I spotted the creature behind me. Our eyes locked, and it let loose an ear-splitting cry before charging me.

Wreckage stood in the way; crates and pieces of wood rushed towards me like stakes. I slapped and batted them away, wincing as some splinters hit me in the face. I grabbed at a piece and whipped it at the creature, striking him in the mouth. He chewed it away and struck me in the back with the back of his claw.

The pressure sent me fumbling forward as I continued to race down the waterway. Up ahead, columns of stones spanned across the way, in between them, a bridge swayed with men on it. The lights obstructed their faces, but one raised his hand, exposing the many yellow eyes upon its head. Crates of explosives stacked behind them as they got their guns ready. The grenade in one of the J'avo's hands glistened off the choppy lights like a beacon.

I dug out my gun, praying it still worked and aimed for the grenade. The crack of the gunshot melted into the sea of roars and screams. The bright light encased me, throwing my head against the side of a stone and throwing my feet over my head with a cry. Water rushed into my mouth and nose, suffocating me as I clawed my way back to the surface. The J'avo were ripped apart. The stones cracked and plummeted down, raining all around me as I dodged and rolled out of the way. They crashed into the water, spraying me in the face and sending me out of control. The BOW's screams cut off as one chunk slammed down upon it, pinning it under the rubble and water.

My stomach dropped as I tumbled out of the waterway. The starry sky and tops of trees swirled around me in a dizzying blur. Hitting the water knocked what breath I had left in me, but I clawed my way back to the surface where the fresh air hit me in the face, and the smell of the forest consumed me.

Bright, fiery explosions tore through the side of the mountain, lighting it up in flames and sending a wall of heat across my face. Another flash rushed across the sky and towards Tall Oaks. The explosion knocked the trees over, sent massive waves of water over me and lit up the night sky a bright yellow-orange.

"N-no..."

_The city! It's...it's gone! Who did this?_

"Ada?" I bobbed in the water lost in a trance as I stared at the fiery haze that was once the city.

There were no more excuses I could muster up to defend Ada. She is in league with this Derek Simmons, and I have proof! _The Evidence!_

Scrambling to shore, I patted down my pockets for the USB. Panic flooded me when I couldn't find it. "GOD DAMN IT!"

_It's gone! It's all gone. The lab is gone, my files are gone._

"No." I cried out in frustration. "NO!" How am I supposed to find them now? That was all I had to go on. I have nothing! Not a damn—"Lanshiang."

Lanshiang is my lead. It was mentioned in the files. My eyes stared over the flaming mess of what was left of the city. My knuckles hurt from clenching so hard, and my head swayed with fatigue.

_Ada, no matter how much you run, I won't stop until I've caught you!_


	3. Lanshiang

It didn’t take me long to find out where Lanshiang was located. The Eastern coast of China. What _did_ take me a while was finding a plane there right away. Luckily, I still have some friends willing to help and lend me a hand.

The sound of the zipper on my jumpsuit cut through the air in the plane bathroom. It was heaven to get out of those wet clothes and into something more comfortable. With my ventilator set in place, I took one last look in the mirror. It was going to be a long night; I can feel it.

I dragged open the sliding doors and popped my head into the cockpit where an old ally flew the plane. “Thanks again for flying me over, Henrick—you’re a lifesaver.”

The man gave a throaty laugh and shook his head all without taking his eyes off the sky. The dim lights glinted off his balding head, making him appear older. “Not a problem Catherine. But seriously, what happened in Tall Oaks? The city—it’s gone...just like Raccoon.”

His voice trailed off as I gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, “If I’m correct, then it involves Ada and a man named Derek Simmons. I’m going to China to stop them, for good, if it comes to that.”

He flung his eyes towards me, the whites of them bright and prominent as his jaw slacked. “Jesus Christ, I can’t see Ada going _that_ far for something. She isn’t nice, but she isn’t a mass killer of the innocent either. I hope you know what you’re doing, kiddo.”

I nodded firmly, “I do.”

“So, what’s the plan? Can’t see you just going in there blind with your guns blazing.”

I dropped down into the co-pilot’s seat and stretched my legs out in front of me and gazed ahead. “No, but I don’t have time to do an in-depth search either. I’m going to have to use the information I have along with any rumours floating around and go from there. Did you bring what I asked for?”

His smile flicked up, squishing his round face until his eyes were just slits. “Sure did. I called a few buddies to gather some info on any underground activity in, and around Lanshiang the last few months. It should be on the laptop on the desk back there.” He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder and back into the heart of the plane.

Leaning over, I gave him a peck on his cheek, making him grumble and myself laugh. “You’re the best!”

“Hey! No kissing the pilot while he’s flying. Of course, I’m the best. Just like I’m the best at collecting the money you owe me for this.”

Sighing, I rolled my eyes and clapped him on the back before turning to the middle of the plane. “Yeah, yeah. Just give me until the end of the week, at least. I don’t know how long this will take me to clean up.”

“I’m a patient man, Cat. I can wait. I know you don’t back out on a promise.”

I left the man to his flying and ripped open the laptop with excitement. I hope Henrick’s friends were able to dig something up for me.

The laptop brightened as I turned it on and began going through all the emails and notifications from Henrick’s suppliers. Now that I had a fixed location and person to tack on, it was easier to locate anything related to Ada and her dealings. I scanned through all the emails and photos sent to me by these ‘friends’ of Henrick. I picked through the data one by one, scanning every line as I went. Some stuff didn’t give me a lot to go on, but in nearly every email, they talked about gathering dangerous armed groups from the Waiyip district of Lanshiang.

The emails went on to talk about the strange activities going on there for the last six months. According to the accounts, the name of the group was called _Neo-Umbrella._ I froze at the mention of the name. So...Edonia and these were all connected. I read on.

The accounts went into detail about a mass surge of recruitment of men from the ‘slum’ district of Waiyip, Poisawan. Some even show evidence of J’avo in the area. _Great._

The newest account was from an hour ago. A full-out attack on the Yuenmon port started a few hours ago by this so-called Neo-Umbrella group. New reports of chaos popped up all across Waiyip, with accounts of J’avo running amuck in the center of it all. They also provided me with a photo of Ada hanging around buildings associated with J’avo activity. The closest thing to a place they could give me were a few photos of a vast Chinese mansion. _Her headquarters maybe?_

Another set of accounts made me do a double-take. _The BSAA has infiltrated the city and is forcing an evacuation to Tatchi._

So...it looks like the BSAA have gotten involved—so surprise there, with all the J’avo sightings it comes to no shock.

Intense pain in the side of my head ripped through me as flashes of my memories in Edonia came rushing back. Alpha team must be in a panic right about now.

_I wonder if Chris and his team will be sent over there…_

It didn’t matter right now. I got a lead and a possible location. “Henrick!” I yelled over the rush of the wind outside.

“Yeah?”

“I got a location—Waiyip.”

“Alright, sounds good to me, kiddo.”

My eyes trailed over to the window where I could see the beginnings of the shore appearing; the city lights grew more prevalent as the clouds cleared.

* * *

“You sure that’s the place?” Henrick said as he approached the district with a suspicious eye.

I nodded. “Yeah...apparently, anyways. Just drop me off far enough to not raise suspicion.”

“You got—JESUS FUCK—”

The rocket shot from a darkened tower and skimmed across the distance. Henrick banked hard, but it wasn’t enough to dodge the strike. The attack struck the front of the plane, knocking us into a tailspin and throwing me around like a piece of trash. The impact was surprisingly softer than what I feared; I blame it on how close we already were to the ground.

The wreckage burned bright red from the heat and flames. My body stung, but luckily nothing was broken. I kicked away the sheet of metal covering me and wobbled to my feet to inspect the area. “HENRICK,” I called out for the man, but no answer came. Sparks flickered and snapped around me, while the heat blew across the wreckage. Most of the plane was still partly intact...all but the cockpit. I made a dash for it, ripping away debris and metal as a scrounge around for Henrick. “Henrick!” I yelled again, coughing as the smoke filled my lungs. My hand froze over a large piece of metal as I spotted the body underneath. My shoulders dropped and my eyes closed.

Only parts of his clothing and charred body were left of Henrick. The impact killed him instantly, but the fire destroyed what remained. I knocked my fist against the side of the plane and cursed. 

Loud screams and voices broke the air, followed by gunshots sparking overhead. The J’avo appeared to finish off the job; they raised their guns and fired close to the wreckage, but missing me interily as I made a dash for the streets.

_I’m sorry, Henrick._

I didn’t stop running until I reached the street I was searching for. My sour mood lifted slightly as I spotted the large building up on the hill.

The mansion looked like any other ordinary mansion with its large yard, fountains and iron gate blocking everyone out. Shadows strolled about the perimeter and near the building. Security, most liekly. I took out my binoculars and honed in on some of the guards. Their faces were covered with some odd-looking masks, but their wild movements gave them away. J’avo.

_I’m in the right place._

I checked the area out, searching for the best way to get in without being seen. There were some pillars off to the side with a small balcony sticking out. I could use them to climb up and get through the windows. With the plan set, I got into position.

Guards rolled in at a leisurely pace, coming dangerously close to my position. I ducked down into the shadows as one strolled by, the machine gun in his hands glinting off the moonlight as he went by. With his back to me, I snuck around him and into the flowerbed where the bushes concealed me. More guards hung in the shadow’s. Their eyes scanned every inch of the place, giving me little options on how to approach the situation.

Kneeling down into the dirt, my hand brushed against a rock, giving me an idea. Scooping up the rock, I waited for the guard on the path to clear the corner before flinging it into the small bushed area down by the fence. The sound immediately caught the attention of the guard standing watch by the pillars. He rushed down the grass, past me and down towards the fence. As soon as his back was to me, I bolted.

My feet patted across the grass, sounding off a light echo into the air as I rushed through the shadows and hedges. Flashlights from the guards swept across the area like sharks on the hunt. They swept along the paths and shadows as I used the bushes for cover while they passed on their rounds. With their backs turned, I sprinted across the remaining section, unhooked the rope and hook from my belt and threw it to the balcony, securing it tightly. With one final glance, I pushed off the pillars and started my ascent. I wiped my sweat-slicked forehead as I enjoyed the gentle cool breeze, the mugginess of the weather making my clothes heavy as they clung around my frame. With a final grunt, I made it up and over the ledge. Security was tight outside, but Ada must have cheaped out on a security system for the inside. I broke into the window with minimal ease and slid inside.

Darkness concealed most of the room, although whatever light that did make its way inside illuminated the elegant decor. Royal reds draped the bed and windows, and jade greens sparkled on the vases with a mixture of gold. It looked like a typical Chinese styled mansion from the looks of it.

The bedroom door was ajar, letting in some of the hallway light as I tiptoed towards it. My head dipped and poked out to study the area. It was empty.

Still suspicious, I slipped into the open and started down one end. I couldn’t help but admire the wallpaper adorning the walls. Golden dragons danced across the walls, painting me a story of the Gods and their doings. They bled into the chandeliers above and the blood-red carpets under my feet. The ancient Chinese influence was prominent everywhere I could see.

The hallway bent up ahead and straightened back out in a darker section. Doors lined each side, but they were locked—except the last one. With a gentle nudge, the door creaked loudly, and the light poured inside, mixing with the blue hue from the computer screens. The gentle hum of the computers sounded in my ears as I quirked up my mouth and strolled over. My gaze flickered across each screen, counting the guards in each. I counted fifty—that I could see.

My head connected to the keyboards with a clang, silencing my scream as my mask bit into my face. My leg darted out and caught the attacker by surprise. His surprise grunt sounded off, and his hold loosened enough for me to whip around and jam my gun into his face.

“Hold it! You’re not one of them?” The young man with a shaved head asked.

“What?” My brows furrowed in confusion.

“One of those six-eyed freaks.”

“Does it look like I got six eyes to you?” My eyebrow twitched as I shoved a hand onto my hip and pointed to my face.

“Nah.” He waved me off and studied the cameras behind me, giving me time to consider him.

His icy blue eyes peeked from behind his hooded stare. Something about them made me recall the man with the sunglasses from my nightmare. They picked my brain and made my hands shake. “...Who are you?”

“Should be asking you that.” He finally spoke. “You don’t look like you belong here.”

“Well, you don’t blend in here yourself. What’s with the get-up?” I cocked an eyebrow at his apparel. He wore only a pair of white pants, that’s it. No top. No shoes—not even socks.

His eyes fixed on the screens behind me, his shoulders tensing as he spoke, “So, she is here.” He made a move towards the screens, but I cocked my gun, causing him to freeze. He didn’t look scared, more agitated at being stopped than anything.

Carefully, my gaze flicked to a blonde woman walking across the security cameras. She wore a similar get-up as the man. My gaze followed her across the screens as she was trying to dodge the guards. “Friend of yours?”

“What’s it to ya?” He snapped.

“As long as you’re inside this mansion, _everything_ is my business.”

He held my stare. The internal fight he had with himself leaked through his eyes until he clucked his tongue and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, she’s a friend.”

He didn’t seem like he was a part of Neo-Umbrella—on the contrary, it looked like he was trying to escape them. His attitude didn’t scream ‘agent’ or any secret service agents, just who was this guy? “Who are you?”

“What is this? Twenty questions?”

My patience was at its end. “Don’t make me ask you again, brat.”

“Jake. Happy?” He spat and continued to stare at the blond woman as she fought off the guards.

“Well, _Jake_ ,” my jaw twitched with impatience, “mind telling me why you’re here and what the hell is going on?”

He waggled a finger in my face, his crooked smile creeped me out as he kept resembling the man in sunglasses more. “You aren’t part of... _this_ , are you? Who do you work for?”

“I’m asking the questions around here. What the hell is going on inside this mansion?”

“And I’m asking questions too. How do I know I can trust you?”

Clucking my tongue, I fought the urge to beat this brat over the head with my gun and slowly lowered it to my side as a sign of compliance. “I’m an agent for the BSAA—Catherine Stone. I’m investigating this place for involvement with another attack.”

“Well,” he shrugged and sidestepped around me, ignoring the click of my gun to his head as he started clicking away on the computers. “Good news, you found the right place.”

I stared openly at him as his fingers danced across the keyboard. Alarms sounded off, and the sound of gunshots echoed through the screens. His friend was busy working the lock on a door while J’avo were trying to surround her, but Jake seemed to have hacked into the guns and mowed them down. His friend got the door opened just as Jake finished off the final guard and disappeared through the door into the next room. With that done, he nodded his head and turned to regard me cooly. “You got another gun on you?”

“Excuse me?” I scoffed.

“Clock’s ticking. Those gunshots won’t go unnoticed for long. You’re going to need some help getting through this place.”

I blew out a long breath, then handed him my spare gun, but not before levelling with him. “You use that on me, and I’ll kill you, got it?”

He only smiled as he grabbed the gun and checked the ammo. “Let’s go.”

_This man is a piece of work._

“So, what’s your deal?” My feet pounded down the hall at a constant pace while I kept an eye out for movement. “Why are you and your friend here?” I wanted answers. If Ada was here, then why is he as well? What purpose does he serve?

“Yeah, yeah. Can we discuss this later? Our friends at the end of the hall don’t want to chat right now.” He cocked his head down the hall where men appeared and readied his— _my_ —gun.

The gunshots rang off into the air, slicing through the beautifully carved decore and walls. Jake slid behind a beam while I took cover behind a table with a large vase on top. Jake fired mercilessly as he gunned down every J'avo at the other end, mowing them all down one by one. The pissed off look in his eyes as he shot me made me question what they did to him here.

"Jesus, these guys can't take a hint." He yelled over the noise and ducked under a swing from one enemy.

Bullets flew overhead and slammed into the wall behind me, sending up sprays of dust and debris into my face. I shook it off and aimed at one of the guards. Three of my bullets hit into him, killing him where he stood. Another one rushed at me with his knife swinging and his arms flailing. My feet pivoted and slammed into his chest, knocking him into the large vase. The shatter rang above the gunfire, but no one seemed to notice. My attack didn’t faze the guy.

He climbed to his feet and swung his head around. The mask covering he wore slipped, exposing his face. When our eyes locked, I saw Edonia all over again. Six pale, yellow eyes stared back at me from his disfigured face. He bolted, but I shot him down, where he burned away at my feet. The fight was over as quickly as it started.

My heavy breathing eased as my feet padded towards Jake. I dipped my head at his handy work. “Not too bad a shot.”

“Could say the same about you.” His smile fell back into an etched frown. “We should keep moving. Don’t know how much longer we’ll have before back-up comes.”

Our advancements were slow going. More J’avo cornered and came at us, obviously aware of our presence now in the mansion, but we quickly took them down. We finally finished on another few J’avo in the pool room and made our way up a set of stairs and into another hall.

A door across from me was ajar, giving me an excellent view inside. “Hold on, Jake,” I told him as I spotted the lab equipment and computer inside.

This was my chance to get some intel on this place. Jake complained, but I didn’t hear him as I skirted around the equipment and settled down by the screens.

The partly lit room flashed with red lights above while a woman’s robotic voice warned us of escaped prisoners. I paid little attention to it as I started flicking through files on the computer. The top file was corrupted, but the second entry was partly eligible.

_June 27,_

_Sh e gave me the v irus ...her s elf_

_What an h onor... happy_

_He r touch made me c ry with hap piness_

_Could n't sto p shaking..._

_He r fing ers. He r to uch. Her s mile_

_...only for me_

_Her...voice...her good sm ell_

_She is ...so b eaut iful_

_M y go ddes s_

_I a m h ers_

_I will do an ything for her_

_Anything. Anything..._

_I fe el so... I feel s o... good._

_Well, that sounds romantic._

I couldn’t help but linger on the words—were they referring to Ada? A flashing notification in the corner of the screen piqued my interest. It was another unread email. I clicked it open and read the sender’s name. A laugh bubbled in my throat, making Jake stare at me. Simmons finally slipped up.

_I got you now—_

A loud clatter came from my right, jerking me to my feet. When I swung around, I was instantly slapped into the counter by a hard, boney hand. It knocked the breath out of me and my mask right off my face. It clattered to the ground while I picked myself back up, wiping the few drops of blood from my lip and levelled my glare on the BOW.

It’s oversized body pulsated ooze and spores, just like the ones I came into contact with in Tall Oaks. I snapped out of my daze when Jake yelled for me to move just as the BOW ripped up a piece of lab equipment and flung it my way.

I dodged in time and watched as the equipment burst upon impact against the wall. The disgusting creature let out a loud shriek and expelled a noxious purple gas into the air, just like they did in Tall Oaks. I wasn’t fast enough to move out of reach from the virus.

My lungs burned as the thick toxins invaded my body, making my eyes burn and water as a coughing fit started. My ears wanted to bleed from the racket the damn thing was making, but it wasn’t anything as wrong as the pain in my lungs. Rough hands grabbed me under the arm and dragged me out of the room. Shrieks of pain and the smell of burning flesh made me gag. Cracking open an eye, I saw the creature burst into flames, whipping about the room in a fit of pain and panic.

“Jesus, you okay?” Jake panted for breath and kept an eye on the scene in front of us.

My throat and lungs still burned, but the coughing was manageable now. “Y-yeah—” Another cough ripped through me. “Just need a moment...thanks.”

“Your nose is bleeding.”

Something wet and warm dribbled over my lips and chin. Brushing it away, I noticed the crimson red on the back of my gloved hands. “I’m fine. The creature hit me in the face when it ripped my mask off.”

“What was that shit it sprayed you with?”

What do I tell him? I know what I inhaled, but telling him it’s okay because I got antibodies to fend it off will just raise more questions from him that I don’t need right now. Thanks to that creature, it destroyed all the evidence...once again. _Damn._ “I—I’m not sure. I’m fine, though. My throat is raw, but I’m good.”

Jake didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t say anything against it. Instead, he nodded towards the door up ahead. ‘Give me a hand with this door, would yeah?”

With a nod and a few more breaths of air, we grabbed ahold of the door and yanked, but it remained shut.

“Dammit, we need a key.”

"We could look for another way."

He shook his head. "This was the only way I could see. If there is another way, it's probably crawling with those freaks."

It would take forever to crack the code, and I hardly doubt they just leave information like that strewn about unattended. My head swayed as I weighed the options, and my eyes landed on a vent on the opposite wall. "We could climb in there."

With only a nod as approval, Jake lowered himself beneath the vent and gave me the signal. I ran towards him, leaped into his hands, jumped on top of his shoulders, and worked on getting the vent door open.

Screams and yelling started to grow louder down the hall, alerting us of the J'avo's presence. "Shit. It looks like they found us. Hurry up!"

"I'm trying. Just give me a sec—ah!" The vent cover ripped open with a clang. I squeezed through the opening and crawled inside.

The sound of Jake cursing and banging around came behind me made me crawl faster. It was cramped inside, and it smelled like mould, but I shook off those complaints as a string of light swept over my face.

When I knocked open the cover and jumped down, I came up with a jerk as I spotted the blonde woman in front of me, her bewildered eyes shifting to Jake and eased. “Jake?”

The man’s smile told me how he felt, but it melted away when his eyes darted down to her barely covered body before looking away. She caught the hint and stepped behind one of the opened lockers. “Sorry about that.”

I smiled and checked around the locker room. “No big deal.” The petite woman had a similar outfit on as Jake, something akin to hospital clothing. Her short, blonde, pixie hair swished in her eyes as she smiled up at me and offered her hand.

“I’m agent Sherry Birkin, by the way.”

I took her hand in mine and gave it a firm shake with a smile. “Agent Catherine Stone, I’m investigating this mansion for involvement with BOWs.”

Her eyes widened, “you’re an agent too? Great! So you can bring back-up, right?”

“Uh, sorry, I work alone. You only got me for back-up, unfortunately.”

Her shoulders fell along with her smile, “Oh...I see. Well, what agency do you work for?”

“The BSAA,” the lies poured off my tongue quickly. The less they know about me, the better.

_So...she’s an agent too?_

“What agency do you work for?” I asked while checking around the locker room.

“National security. I was on a mission to find Jake when things...got out of hand.”

My eyebrow cocked up, “What do you mean?”

“We were captured from Edonia six months ago.”

“ _Edonia_...then, you must have been there during the war.”

_These two just got a heck of a lot more interesting._

She nodded and resumed buttoning up her shirt.

“Who captured you? Who ordered it?”

She hesitated and flicked a glance over to Jake; the man already regarded her cooly while changing. “We aren’t entirely sure. I thought you would already know?”

“Unfortunately, I’m about as in the dark on this like you guys.”

I let them finish changing and poked around the side doors. The hallway on the other side was dark and empty. I searched for an exit but couldn’t see any from where I was. I found a flight of broad stairs leading up to another floor, but nothing else I could see. The room shifted, and my head spun. Black and white blobs flickered across my vision like a static screen. My heartbeat in my ears slowed then picked back up to a frantic patter. Hot liquid dripped from my nose and over my lips sent a warning through my body as pinpricks started to tingle over my hands and feet. My erratic breathing made me dizzy as I tried to calm myself down.

"You can blame your father all you want, but someday you'll have to take responsibility for your _own_ actions." The sound of the locker slamming shut brought me back. The constant buzzing in my ears dimmed, and my balance stabilized.

Sherry came barging out of the locker room, and before she could see my state, I swiped away the blood and nodded to her. She gave me an odd look but didn’t say anything about it. “Upstairs is the only way I could see,” I told her calmly.

“Perfect. I need to contact my superiors and let them know I’m okay. Just need to find a way to contact them.”

“Might be a computer or phone somewhere in this place. We’ll find one.” With any luck, searching for a computer might turn up more evidence at the same time.

“Better get a move on then.” Jake appeared behind us and loaded another clip into his gun and handed me back the one I lent him. “Thanks.”

We started up the stairs at a brisk pace, but I noticed the tingling in my hands and feet was beginning to be a constant annoyance. “Are you okay?” Sherry’s voice came up beside me. “You look pale, and your eyes are glazed over.”

“I’m okay. Just got punched by one of those walking freak shows is all.”

I brushed her hand and her concerns off, but her eyes lingered on the side of my face as I recollected my composure and started up the stairs again. She opened her mouth, but a banging on the top floor cut her off.

“We got company!” Jake fired off at the approaching J’avo at the end of the stairwell, sending them rolling down.

More J’avo poured out from the halls with their machine guns. I dipped behind a half-wall and scoped the enemy. Shifting my attention upward, I raised my rifle and shot out the chandelier, crushing two of the J’avo under its weight. The last one mutated into some freak like insectoid and swung out its claw appendage towards us. The armour on it was too thick for our bullets to pelt through, so we would have to sneak around.

_Yep, just like Edonia all over again._

Jake rushed in with his bare hands and landed a punch to the things head, knocking him down long enough for me to swing behind and whip out his legs from under him while Jake finished him off with a stomp to the head. With a nod, we carried on. Our quick steps brought us to the grand entrance of this place.

My eyes didn’t know where to look. Massive gold statues sat in the middle with chairs and couches circling behind them, while the marble accents glittered under the lights.

“I’ll tell you this; it took a lot of money to build something this big.” Jake nodded at all the decor. 

“Go big or go home, I guess.” I mumbled.

Two guards stood to watch by the front doors. I tried my luck with the rifle Jake picked up and picked them off, only...it didn’t kill them. They transformed into two cocoons. Moments later, two lizard-looking things burst from their shells. Their scaly, green skin, oozed with a light clear liquid and their red eyes honed in on us. They let loose a loud hiss before racing for us with their mouths snapping the air.

Their mangled limbs pounded across the floor; the permanent sneer on their lips as they got closer only irritated me more. They recoiled away as our bullets assaulted them, but they kept coming back. Their mouths snapped in my face, but I shoved them off and landed a punch to their heads, finally, after shredding them with our bullets. They burned away.

My breathing laboured as I struggled to catch my breath. The pain in my lungs started to tingle and fizz like I inhaled a fizzy drink. No matter how many times I cleared my throat or coughed, the persistent feeling never wavered.

“Hey, look.” Jake trotted to the front doors. “We can get out here.”

Sherry nodded. “Yeah. But until I talk to my superiors, I don’t even know where to go.”

“Why does everything have to be such a pain in the ass?” Jake grumbled. “All right. Guess we better find a way for you to phone home.”

J’avo appeared above and around us, zigzagging between the furniture and staircase in a sheer frenzy. “We ain’t out of the thick of it yet,” I shouted off and wrestled one J’avo to the ground and kicked out another one.

They came at us in a fury, swinging their mutated limbs back and forth like a bat. One managed to land a punch to my side, sending up a pained, electric explosion. My fist blocked a follow-up shot. I hooked my hand under his arm and collar and threw him to the ground and crushed his skull.

“Hey! I found a room over here! Sherry sounded off to our left.

When I looked, there was indeed a large metal door, but before we could open it, we had to finish off these annoying J’avo.

I gripped my gun tighter and fired off around me, hitting four BOWs in the process. Some fell to their knees, where Jake finished them off. Sherry grabbed her gun and landed two shots to another while I took up aim and let loose a barrage of bullets into the other two.

With the silence stretching on, we ran towards the door and pried it open.

On the other side of the door sat a small office with some computers inside. Sherry immediately got to work on the machines, while I held back to observe.

“What is this?” Jake asked behind me and glanced at the graphs popping up on the screen. By the looks of it, they were data and charts.

“Data from experiments,” Sherry answered, proving my guess correct.

“What kind of experiments were they doing here?” I scanned every chart but couldn’t make them out.

“Too many,” Jake said. “Hurry up so we can get a move on.”

“It’s all right here.” Sherry injected a type of USB into the machine and started transferring the files over.

Jake appeared beside her with a phone in his hand and a smile on his face. “Why don’t you call your boss?”

While they were busy doing that, I slipped my USB inside the computer and grabbed whatever files I could get my hands on without them looking. They might come in handy later.

“It’s me, Sherry Birkin,” Sherry’s voice piqued my interest. “...yes, he’s OK...we were detained...at a facility in China. Really!?” Her excited voice made my nerves twitch. I grabbed the USB, hid it away later, and watched as her face animated as she spoke. “All right, I’ll send you our exact coordinates.” She hung up and turned to face Jake and me, her smile still on her face. “They’re already here in China! It’s over; we’re saved.”

“Hallelujah. So, you ready?” He seemed less excited, but happy nonetheless.

She turned around, grabbed the USB and pocket it. “Done. Now let’s get the hell out of here.” Then she turned to me. “Are you coming with us still?”

“For now, I guess. There isn’t much less I can get from here anyway. The J’avo are swarming this place like cancer.”

She held her phone out to me, “do you want to contact your bosses as well?”

“It’s okay. I have a rendezvous point to meet them anyway.”

With that settled, we busted out of the room and were just about to head towards the steps when a massive explosion blasted through the main entrance doors. Clouds of debris flitted through the air, and chunks splattered the ground, and out of the dust, a tank emerged.

“Let’s go!” I screamed and started on the second-floor stairs.

Jake and Sherry didn’t spare the tank another glance before following my steps and reaching the second-floor hallway. We couldn’t use the front doors, but there might be another exit this way.

Another shot fired over my head. I tried to scream, but my voice cut off abruptly as another coughing fit took hold. Jake cursed as the tank blew out the flooring beneath us, making us crash down on the first floor.

“Jesus Christ!” He screamed. “We don’t have time for this!”

Fighting through the burning in my lungs, I pushed myself to keep going and swallow my coughing down, but it was no easy task as the tank kept firing round after round of ammo towards us.

“Here!” Sherry shoved me into a small hall with a bend and a door at the end.

The tank couldn’t fit down here—thank God—so it gave me a moment to catch my breath. Once I did, we barged through the door and right into the backyard of the mansion. It was a massive pond and garden. My feet were already soaked from the shin-high water, but it was the least of my concerns when the wall beside us exploded open, and the tank reemerged. “Jesus!” I yelled in frustration and rolled out of the way as the tank fired off another round, and more J’avo appeared.

“Just what we needed,'' Jake grumbled and started pecking off the J’avo higher up with his rifle while Sherry and I focused on the J’avo lower and keeping the tank away.

The gunshots assaulted my eardrums, and the smell of iron was a constant taste in my mouth. I cocked my gun and fired at a mutated J’avo, knocking him off the balcony and under the tank’s track. My feet ran up its flank, making it spin around and beat into the giant statue beside it and crushing two J’avo coming my way. That’s when an idea hit me. The statue had a pole on it in perfect condition to swing from and land on the above opening across the way, but I needed the tank to hit it again. My body dove out of the direction of the string of gunfire and yelled out for Jake.

“What?” He barked and dug his fist into the face of another J’avo.

“Can you lead the tank to you?”

“Why?”

“Just do it!” I got into position and waited for Jake to lure the tank towards him. Once he did, the tank knocked into the statue as I hoped.

Winding up my legs, I jumped, latched out to the pole, swung across, landed on the tank, ran across, and fell in the second-floor garage. There were a few J’avo inside with machine guns, but a few shots to the head and a kick to the back put them down. More feet pounded up the stairs, so I grabbed the machine gun from one of the bodies and opened fired on the unsuspecting J’avo. Their screams burned away like their flesh, leaving me alone once more.

“You good in there?” Sherry piped in.

When I spotted the bikes and cars in the other section, I nodded and yelled back, “Found some motorbikes! We can use them to get the hell ‘outta here!”

“Perfect! Just leave the tank to me!” Jake answered back.

I set up the gun and used it to distract the tank away from Jake so the man could set his plan into motion. My rounds didn’t go unnoticed by the tank and, within seconds, had the thing pointing my way. “Shit!” My body hit the floor as the missile whipped overhead and took out the red sports car behind me. The smell of burning oil and rubber made my nose twitch, but shook it off and focused on not getting hit by the second missile. “Mind putting your plan into action faster, Jake!”

“Give me a moment!”

He ripped out something from a dead J’avo and led the tank towards him. Another shot rang off, striking the outside wall into dust. More J’avo still appeared, cornering Sherry on the other side of the pond. I gave her a hand and wasted them just as Jake jumped up on the tank and whipped whatever it was he got from the J’avo inside and jumped off. The loud bang and smoke piled out of the tank, stopping it in its pursuit. Finally, we could get out of here.

“Get to the bike!” I jumped up and started the first bike and put it in gear just as Jake leaped over and started the second one. He gave me one nod before racing over the ledge and making room for Sherry to jump on. We put the bikes in gear and peeled out of there and through the hole the tank had made.

The taste of freedom never tasted so fresh and pleasant. The bikes rumbled over the free highway and through the tunnels, but of course, it didn’t last long. The annoying flash of light blared down on us from above like a mocking salute. The J’avo were hard set on making sure we didn’t live to see another day.

The helicopter swooped in closer and set its guns on us. Sparks kicked up as the bullets pelted the road around us. With a nod from Jake, we hit the gas and took off down the road, winding and turning to avoid the helicopter’s assault.

Bullets pelted in front of me, I swerved the bike out of the way of clutter on the road and kept revving the accelerator as we raced down the highway, but the helicopter was persistent, and wouldn’t let up. We banked hard and flew over the guard rails. My scream stuck in my throat as the bike went airborne over the road below. My eyes found Sherry’s mid-flight; they were full of terror and panic as we whipped through the air and landed hard on the street below. My sigh ripped out of me and a bubble of hysterical laughter. From any other point of view, I probably looked like a madwoman, but there wasn’t any time to care for that.

The city came into view. Overturned vehicles and burning debris blocked most of the road but left enough space for us to squeeze our bikes through. It looks like Neo-Umbrella has moved into this district as well.

“We got company!” Jake yelled over the new roaring engines behind us. J’avo appeared on motorbikes, their guns blasting off at us as we skirted and swerved around the debris, trying not to get hit.

We kept up the chase until we hit the freeway. More abandoned cars and trucks whipped past us as we tried to evade the helicopter and now bikers. My body flinched when bullets ripped beside me, knocking my mirror out and sending the glass everywhere. Anger bubbled up inside as the helicopter flew forward and pelted an approaching truck transporting cars.

The cars crashed down the road and slammed past us. I snapped right to avoid being hit by a car and then left to avoid another. Jake must have had the same idea as me, our eyes locked, and our smiles etched up higher. We gunned it towards the now-empty truck and used the platform to rocket over the helicopter and over the side. I held my breath as my bike tilted dangerously low over the whipping blades, but it let out when we landed safely on the next street.

Up ahead, the road dipped down, giving us another jump. Jake hit it first and lost his balance on the way down. The bike flew out from under them and skidded a ways ahead while Jake and Sherry slid right into my path.

“Shit!” I screamed and knocked the bike away, sending it crashing below and skidding right into Jake’s. The explosion went off just as my body hit the cement next to Jake and Sherry. The heat from the flames licked my face and warmed my aching body as I peeled myself up from the road.

The pounding of the helicopter’s blades broke the moment, and the blinding light blared down on our faces again. My face twisted when the J’avo pilot’s face came into view, but then, I spotted figures moving across the building below. Their dark green uniforms stood out next to the greys and browns of the city around them.

I picked myself off the ground and stumbled over, catching the gaze of Piers and Chris. I didn’t think someone’s eyes could round that big, but the Lieutenant managed. A dozen emotions flickered across his face before settling on a hard frown.

“Looks like Redfield and his boy scouts are here to save the day again,” Jake said flippantly.

My eyes broke away from the lieutenant first when the rumbling and screaming of the approaching J’avo cut in and circled us. Their leering smiles and multiple eyes left a bad taste in my mouth. “Great...just what we need.”

Everything exploded into a blur of chaos. Bullets pelted the ground, and grenades exploded. Men screamed incoherent things as I leaped behind the safety of cover and sighted in my gun on the closest enemy.

“Chris’ team will protect us,” Sherry said with a curt nod of her head, earning an annoyed grunt from Jake.

“We don’t need their help. I didn’t ask for it either!”

Sherry shook her head with a distasteful look in her eye. “I know you don’t like him, but if Chris is here…”

“All right, all alright! Enough about Redfield! Geez, it’s getting old.” Jake’s reaction caught me off guard.

_How did he even know Chris or his team?_

The man grumbled some more and punched a J’avo in the face with more force necessary.

“So, I can assume you aren’t a fan of the guy, huh?” My back hit the wall as a line of bullets pelted overhead.

He gave me a dirty look and clicked his tongue. “How ‘bout shutting up and focus on killing these assholes?” He jumped to his feet and shot at the mutated J’avo behind us.

“Touchy.”

Chaos rained down like bombs—blindsiding and turning me on my head like an amusement park ride going off its tracks. It was hard to stay focused. My mind was in a haze, and it wouldn't lift.

It was like someone had turned the mute button on the volume. All around me, the sounds of gunfire, screaming, and the helicopter’s blades chopping the air faded out, instead, replaced with a faint ringing that grew louder and louder. My head pounded, and my feet hurt. The gravel bit into my knees, and my hands covered my ears to try and stop the ringing, but nothing worked. My skin prickled, and the taste of iron was on my lips again.

_What’s happening?_

My heart pounded harder as more pain flickered up my ankles and over my fingers like they fell asleep, but with hot water pouring on them. No one seemed to notice what was going on, except for one J’avo.

Its head was already a mess of claws and flesh, and its legs exploded into giant grasshopper-like appendages. It settled on me and charged my way. The feeling was slowly subsiding, but I still couldn’t get my arm up to shoot. My jaw locked, and my body curled in on itself, waiting for the beast to strike down. The ringing cut out, and the bombardment of sounds hit me at full force, knocking the breath out of me. I flung my head up and saw the BOW crumple to the ground by my feet and burn away before moving a muscle.

“You’re alive?” His voice sounded more agitated than surprised. When I flicked my eyes over and locked on to his face, it was pinched and set in stone.

“Good to see you again, Nivans.”

“What’re you doing here?” Bullets whizzed past us, slamming into the floor at our feet and forcing us to jump back. “Fucking, Christ. These guys don’t let up,” He hammered the butt of his gun into the head of one mutated J’avo and shot off at another in a single move. I had to admit...that was a little hot. “Are you just going to stand there and do nothing, or are you going to give me a hand?”

I answered his question by striking down a BOW and covered his back. He didn’t say anything, just gave me a cold sideways stare and kept up with the fight.

We danced around the J'avo, slicing and shooting them as we went and covering each other's backs. I hadn't felt this at ease in ages, and it was a welcomed gift in this time of darkness. Once more, I felt the tingling in my lungs creeping back. My feet faltered, and my lungs burned. Iron was on my lips and in my mouth, making me choke as my eyes watered from the coughing.

The J’avo slid past my knife thrust and got its machete over its head. I bit back another cough and froze as the blade darted down. The shot rang out, blasting open the J’avo’s head and throwing it to the ground with a cry that faded into nothing as it burned away. I couldn’t hold back my coughing any longer. More blood trickled my mouth, and just then, a hand clamped on my shoulder and turned me around. What I wasn’t expecting was the Lieutenant’s concerned face staring back at me.

“What’s wrong?” He asked and studied the blood at the corner of my mouth.

“It’s nothing, just inhaled some dust from earlier and it hasn’t cleared up yet.”

He looked like he wanted to say more, but both our heads snapped up to the sound of an explosion going off. The chopper fired a missile towards Jake, missing him and hitting the pillar behind him. The chopper didn’t stick around, it pulled back and disappeared over the city buildings, leaving us to finish off the remaining J’avo.

"The chopper is pulling back! Come on!" The lieutenant barked at me before following his team to the roof.

I lingered back to look for Jake and Sherry, but they disappeared to the other side of the building. If I followed Alpha team, there might be a faster way down to meet back up with them. I turned on my heels and dashed off towards the stairs where the lieutenant waited for me.

* * *

The stench of the city was just as overpowering up on the rooftop as it was everywhere else. Fires sprouted up in every direction; people screamed, and gunshots rang out continuously. We had to make a small jump across the roofs, but when it was my turn, my feet gave out under me, and the tingling pain shot up my feet and into my hands. My gasp of shock and choice of curse words reached the ears of the lieutenant.

“You okay?” His forehead furrowed.

“I’m _fine_. Just lost my balance.” Picking myself—and my pride—off the floor, I shook off the feeling and dusted off my sides and caught the ever so small smirk on his lips. “Something funny?”

Chopper blades cut the sky overhead like a never-ending nightmare. "Choppers back to finish the job!" The lieutenant yelled and ripped his eyes off me and up to the sky where that damn helicopter reappeared.

"Everyone," Captain Redfield barked, "bring that chopper down and bring it down hard!"

My hand flew up to cover my eyes as the chopper's spotlight found me. I ran for cover and waited until it turned before open firing on it, but my bullets weren't doing anything. "Our bullets still aren't doing anything to it!".

"It's armoured,” one of the other members answered. “Our firepower isn’t enough."

He didn't look like any of the ones I met in Edonia. Now that I think about it, none of these men, aside from the lieutenant and the captain looked familiar. I scanned the faces for the familiar wide-eyed rookie but didn't see him anywhere. I was about to ask the Lieutenant where Finn was but stopped when I spotted the captain raise a rocket launcher.

He fired three rounds at the chopper, the first missed, the second hit the center and the third hit the tail, sending it spinning out of control. It twisted and hovered for a moment before slamming into the side of a building and burst into flames.

My eyes slid from the wreckage and down towards Jake and Sherry. They searched around them and said something to one another while shaking their heads and trotted off out of sight. "Wait—"

"Hold it." The lieutenant's gruff voice sounded and gripped my arm tighter.

"Let go.”

“I’m not through with talking to you just yet. You’re still under arrest for the attack on Marhawa.”

“I didn’t do anything! I need to catch up to them!” My shoulders sagged when their forms disappeared under the balcony and out of sight.

"Neo-umbrella was after the three of you, why? What do they want with you?"

“None of your business.”

"I want answers.” He snapped back. “What're you doing here with those two, and how did you survive the fall back in Edonia?”

“I fell into the water. I got out and took shelter. Now let me go!”

“What are you doing here?” He barked back. “Why is Neo-Umbrella after the three of you?”

“The hell should I know? I found those two, and then Neo-Umbrella showed up.”

My lie didn’t convince him. He shook his head and gripped my arm tighter. “Enough with the lies. Tell me the truth; you owe it to me.”

My eyes travelled down to where Jake and Sherry ran off to, then back up the lieutenant. My shoulders collapsed as a sigh escaped my mouth, “I’m looking for Ada Wong,” I said defeatedly. “I have reasons to believe she is responsible for this mess.”

The corner of Piers’s eye twitched. He took one step towards me and lowered his voice to a threatening growl. “How do you know about Ada Wong?”

“I found information about her involvement back in Edonia and then again while infiltrating the mansion when I found those two.”

His eyes dug into every corner of my face, scrutinizing every flicker of my movement before slowly nodding his head and releasing his hand. “What mansion?”

“It’s up through the city in the middle of Waiyip. An old Chinese looking mansion. I found evidence of BOW’s there and involvement with Neo-Umbrella.”

“And that’s why they were after the three of you?” I nodded my head. His gaze flickered over to his captain then back to me. He straightened up and nodded, “Okay. I’ll send word to the BSAA, for now, you stick with us.”

“What?! Why?”

“Because there is nowhere else for you to go, and you’re still under suspicion of involvement with Edonia and Marhawa, or do I need to remind you?”

I shook my head and opened my mouth to tell him it’s all a misunderstanding, but the captain’s impatient voice roared out, “Piers! Get up here! We’re moving out.”

Piers made a move to turn but froze to give me one more glance, something in his gaze hardened as if shutters fell behind them, masking his thoughts from me. “Let’s go.”

I did the only thing I could do; I followed him. 


	4. Living Nightmares

Screams and the sounds of war filled the night as I stared over the ledge of the scaffolding. Jake and Sherry were long gone, and I had no leads on Ada’s whereabouts. That left me with only one option, and I dreaded every moment.

My eyes lifted from the helicopter’s burning wreckage as Captain Redfield stormed over and paused in front of me. “You were in Edonia. Why’re you here?” The glower in his eyes pinned me to my place.

Steadying myself, I crossed my arms across my chest. “I was, and I’m here to track down Ada Wong for her involvement in these attacks. I want to put a stop to her.”

“And why should I trust anything you say?” He said while lowering his head to study my face.

“Because I’ve given you no reason not to.”

“Marhawa Academy says otherwise.” Nivans jumped in, his voice a low growl as his lip twitched.

I stepped towards him. “ _That_ wasn’t my fault. I was aiming for Nanan...not my fault the helicopter jerked. You can believe what you want to about my involvement at Marhawa, but you can’t deny I helped you and your team out in Edonia. I’ll hold up my end of the bargain and answer any questions you have.”

“How do you know Ada Wong is the cause for all this?” Nivans asked.

“I found a lab back in Tall Oaks directly connecting her to the attacks and creation of the C-virus. She’s working with someone named Derek Simmons. She planned each attack for her gain, and I found information tracking her here.”

Captain Redfield shifted his weight and pressed me further. “And how do you know all this about Ada? How did you figure out she was behind all this in the first place?”

My tongue darted out and wet my lips as I shifted in my spot. “Well, er, I found evidence from Marhawa.”

“But how did you know who Ada was at the time? As far as we’re aware, we only discovered her identity in Edonia, and you’re telling us you knew who she was since the summer after the attack at Marhawa?” The Lieutenant pressed further.

A few tense moments ticked by as I argued with myself on how to answer that question. It came down to telling the truth...or part of it at least--gotta gain their trust somehow. “I was aware of her existence before any of the attacks took place. Our paths crossed before any of this C-virus crap even began. I recognized her as the cloaked figure at Marhawa.”

“So you worked for her then?” The Captain hissed.

“No, only that I’ve seen her before. I haven’t and currently don’t work for Ada Wong. Do you have any other questions you’d like to ask me?”

Captain Redfield’s stare lurked across my face as he studied me for a few more moments until he straightened up and started for the metal doors. “I don’t have time for this. I’m going after that BOW. Ada’s not getting away with this. We’re moving out,” he called over his shoulder.

“Captain?” Nivans’ incredulous stare made me want to laugh, but I bit it down as he flung his attention back onto me. The look of shock melted and was quickly replaced with anger as he got up into my face. “You stay by my side at all times. Any wrong move, and I’ll put you down myself, got it?”

I gave him a stiff smile, “Will do. After you, Lieutenant.”

His jaw set, but it quickly turned into a smirk as he reached into his back pocket and yanked something shiney out. He moved with lightning speed and grabbed my wrist and slapped on the handcuffs in one swift movement.

“What the—”

“Don’t worry,” he tightened them before meeting my gaze, “it’s just a precaution.”

“Bu—I helped your team back in—”

“Well, this isn’t Edonia, and I find it mighty suspicious you keep poppin' up during these outbreaks.” He moved behind me and shoved me forward. “After you.”

With an agitated growl, I cursed under my breath and stomped towards the rest of the team. “And how am I supposed to defend myself from BOWs with my hands cuffed?”

“You won’t have to, I’ll keep an eye on you.”

“That’s comforting,” I mumbled under my breath, earning a click of his tongue from the Lieutenant. 

The team slid inside the building like shadows; their feet crept across the peeled linoleum floors. The ripped wallpaper hid the mould growing behind it, but the pungent odour in the air couldn’t.

My nose wrinkled as I trailed by, tiptoeing over the discarded items on the floor, and turned the corner. I’m wasting my time. Ada is out there, and I need to stop her, but how am I supposed to do that when I’m here exploring a dirty, old building for a BOW? The cuffs clanked against my stomach as I kept up pace with the men. The metal irritated my skin, but no matter how I twisted them, there was no relief.

The Lieutenant stuck close to me. The feeling of his eyes on the side of my face burned as we continued forward. He watched me like a hawk; every move I made, if it were too fast, he’d jerk to attention and pin me with an icy stare. He’s wound up tighter than a spring.

The scream cracked the air and stilled everyone in place. Everyone whipped around with their guns pointed. But when my eyes landed on the man hovering in the air, dread sank into my stomach. I stumbled back as the man whipped around, screaming and crying as if being pulled on strings. Captain Redfield made a move to grab the man but had to jump back as the spray of bullets from the man’s gun sprayed out everywhere.

Instinctively, I curled into a ball and wrapped my hands over my head to avoid the bullets pelting around me. I jerked up when the man’s body slammed into the floor with a sickening wet crash. I gaped at his empty stare until a flicker of movement caught my attention behind him.

A massive snake-like BOW hovered in the air with translucent skin. Its jaws snapped shut around the soldier’s leg and dragged him out of sight. Before I could blink, Captain Redfield took off after the BOW, followed by the screaming Lieutenant.

“Captain! WAIT!” He cried out.

I drew back quickly as a hand looped under my bicep and hoisted me to my feet. Sparing a glance, I caught the concerned gaze of one of the other team members. With a small smile and a head nod, I followed them down the bloody trail.

When they said they were looking for a BOW, I didn’t think it would be that big, but I guess after Edonia, nothing is out of the realm of possibilities.

_It was invisible. How are they supposed to find it if they can’t even see it?_

I was the last to arrive at the door. The other members stood outside; their eyes fixed on the surrounding area. What caught my attention was the Lieutenant’s raised voice inside the room.

“What the hell were you thinking pulling a kamikaze stunt like that?” He roared.

I peeked inside the room and watched the scene unfold. It was Nivans that hounded his captain. His shoulders shook as he glared down at his superior. Redfield didn’t look fazed by his Lieutenant’s outburst, he seemed annoyed beyond anything. “These are my men. You follow my lead, or I’ll find someone who can.”

The shock on Lieutenant Nivans’ face mirrored my own. Stunned, he blinked and jerked himself forward. “Do you even hear yourself?”

The tension in the room thickened, and all the sounds died out. I caught myself holding my breath as Captain Redfield stepped towards the lieutenant, and in a low and threatening growl, he told him, “fall in line soldier,” and brushed passed us without another word or glance.

I don’t recall the Captain being _anything_ like that.

I finally allowed myself to breathe once Nivans stormed over and tried to push past me in the doorframe. “What was that—”

“You heard the man. Move out.” He said.

I grabbed his elbow and yanked him back. “Hey, what’s going on? What happened just now?” He tried to rip out of my grip, but I held firm, ignoring the pain it sent through my wrist as the cuffs bit into my skin. “I told you what I was doing here; the least you could do is return the favour.”

“You don’t get to ask questions around here—least of all about the BSAA’s doings. It doesn’t concern you.”

“That isn’t an average BOW...it could make itself invisible. This isn’t something you and your team should take lightly. We need to leave before it picks us off.”

He clenched his mouth and reached up to my hand and ripped it off his elbow. He opened his mouth to say something, but the sharp bang of gunfire threw us back to the problem at hand. Nivans jerked his head up and searched for the source of the shooting and cut back to me. “We need to go.”

Reluctantly, I charged along with the Lieutenant and scanned each of the rooms for any movement.

“It’s heading West!” A voice over the radio screamed out.

The Lieutenant’s face hardened as he shifted and pushed through the door.

My head swayed as we entered another room. “This isn’t a good idea. We need to leave.” I tried to urge him, but he was too hyper-focused to hear me.

He jerked up at the sound of gunshots.

“It’s over here!” A voice yelled.

"Don't lose it!" The captain snapped back. I saw his form dart past the door, his face a hardened rock as he charged after the tail of the BOW.

“Piers, it’s coming your way!” A voice called through the radios.

I reached over to grab Nivans’ shoulder before he could follow them and yanked him around. “We _need_ to get out of here. It’ll block us in!”

“Not until we put it down!” He snapped back.

“I didn’t get dragged along to be chow for that BOW. I’m leaving,” I claimed and made a move to leave, but he grabbed hold of me.

“No, you’re not!” The grip he had on me hurt like hell. It burned and ached as he held tight. “You’re staying with us.”

“PIERS!” They yelled.

With my back straight and my teeth clenched, I prepared to push him away and storm out of here by force. Then, the scream cut in and stopped me.

Nivans immediately dropped his hold on me and flung around and kicked the door open. He was out into the hallway before I could breathe. His gunshots cracked the air and illuminated the glower on his face. “Damn it!” He threw his arms down, reeled in his erratic breathing, and gave me a quick glare and took off down the hall.

I didn’t like the sound of that scream. Cursing out loud, I followed him. I weaved through the mess and debris until I came up behind him in a small room that appeared to be, at one point, a barbershop. Blood was blood. But for human blood, it always had a distinct smell, one that once you smelt, you couldn’t forget. His BSAA uniform was hardly recognizable underneath all that blood. It stained the ground under him and the hole in the floor. I scanned the room, but couldn’t find any trace of the BOW.

Nivans shot around. His seething glare directed straight at me, and his mouth pinched together as Captain Redfield spoke through the radio.

“Piers! What’s the status?”

Slowly, Nivans pulled his finger to his earpiece, not once taking his pointed stare off me. “Reid’s dead. The BOW got away through a hole in the floor.”

“I told you we needed to get out of here. That BOW will kill us all.”

My spin tingled as he stepped towards me with a low, threatening tone. “You don’t get to tell us what to do. Our mission is to eliminate this BOW, stop Ada Wong and monitor you.”

“How is this going to help find Ada? While you’re here chasing after a snake, she’s out there destroying this city.”

I clamped my mouth shut as he pinned me with his icy stare. He didn’t get the chance to say whatever it was he was about to say because the Captain charged through the door. The rest of the team quickly appeared behind him. Their eyes immediately honed in on the body, and their curses fell in the air.

Captain Redfield said nothing as he stormed past Nivans and me and jumped down through the hole in the floor. The other two soldiers paused in front of Nivans, but with a nod of his head, they jumped down to meet up with their Captain.

Nivans reeled in his emotions and jerked his head towards the hole. Irritated, I bit back a comment and made my way over to the lip of the hole and jumped down. My scream slipped out as my feet hit the floor and gave out under me. The damn handcuffs made it impossible to catch myself, so I ended up face planting the floor with a grunt. Pain enveloped my legs as if someone lit a fire in my veins. It throbbed like a thousand needles dragging across my skin, and as I bit back another yelp while trying to get back up, my lungs burned once more. I bit back a cough as Nivan’s pinched expression hovered in front of my face.

“Can you stand up?”

“O...of cour...se I can,” I stood up on wobbly legs and swallowed back a cry as the pain intensified. “See?”

He let out a long breath, shook his head and started for the team.

I hobbled along behind him, biting my lip to stop a whimper from escaping. The pain eased—only slightly—it still hurt like hell to walk.

_What’s going on with me?_

A cold sweat rolled down my spine as I thought back to the mansion incident with that BOW.

_There was no way it could infect me...right?_

“It went down the elevator shaft!” One soldier yelled to the Captain as Nivans, and I arrived.

“Follow it!” Captain Redfield answered and grabbed on to one cable dangling over the wrecked shaft and shimmied his way down.’

The cable dangled in my face. I didn’t want to raise any more suspicion than I already have of my...problem. It could cause some serious issues for me if they found out. My eyes flickered towards Nivans but found the man already regarding me silently.

“What are you waiting for? Get on.” He said but didn’t make a move to jump on the cable in his hands.

I stared at the cable and hesitated only a moment before turning back to him. “The cuffs are in the way.”

“They say on.” He snapped.

“Well, then I guess I’m just going to have to stay here, or leave.”

“He spat some nasty remarks and shook his head before flinging his eyes up to me. “You don’t stray from me,” he said while taking the cuffs off, but not before pinning me with a hard stare. “As soon as we get to the bottom, these go back on, understood?”

“I won’t go anywhere--”

“Understood?” He hissed.

With a sigh, I nodded, “understood.”

He waited for me to grab the cable before hopping on himself. The pain in my hands spiked, but I remained calm as I shimmied my way down with the rest of the team. Every move was a fight; my fingers didn’t want to move, and when I got them to move, it made me want to cry. I could hear Nivans above me catching up as I tried to go at a gingerly pace without falling off.

A crash came from beside me. A shadow darted out and grabbed the wire, jerking it violently to the left and choking the air out of my lungs as it whipped me around like a sheet on a clothesline on a windy day. I could hear everyone yelling as we whipped through the air and crashed through a stairwell.

My throat stung from all the screaming. My body cried out as I bounced across the floor and came to an abrupt stop on my side. Someone else’s groans accompanied my own. I winced through the pain and caught the Lieutenant crawling to his feet and rolled his shoulders back as he stared around the room.

A wet sensation dribbled down my nose and over my lips. The taste of iron filled my throat. Taking the back of my gloved hand, I wiped the blood away but paused as the stinging sensation doubled. I reached out and ripped my glove off and drew back with a gasp.

Black and blue-ringed sores formed from my nails to the base of my wrist and up passed my sleeve. The skin ripped open and curled like burnt paper. The inside of the wounds was black and a deep shade of green. The smell of rot wafted to my nose and made me want to vomit. I jumped when a hand clamped down on my shoulder. The Lieutenant’s face came into view as he knelt down. His eyes widened as he stared at my hand and pulled away.

“What the hell happened?” His eyes widened as he spotted the oozing sores.

“I-I...I don’t know…”

“Does it hurt?” He pressed his thumb over my knuckles.

“Ow!”

“Shit.” He pulled away and shook his head. “This isn't good. The flesh is...rotting. How long has it been like this?”

His voice sounded so distant to me. My thoughts kept running back to the mansion and to that damn BOW. I could still taste the toxic gas it sprayed me with at the back of my throat.

“So...it _did_ infect me...”

“What?”

The softness in his face when my gaze flickered up to him took me off guard. I sat back on my butt and gently probed the tender sores. “Nothing.” I reached over to put my glove back on, but he grabbed my wrist.

“This isn’t nothing. Something’s wrong with your hand—It looks infected.”

“We don’t have time to worry about it. I just scraped it on the way dow—”

His eyes burned into my face. He would not let this lie slide. “You’re lying. Something’s been up with you since we found you with Neo-Umbrella.”

I bit my tongue and let out a long drawn out breath before looking him in the eye. There was no escaping this. “A BOW got me back at the lab while I was looking for Ada. I didn’t think it was anything.”

“Wait, a second...you’re _infected_?” His eyebrows shot into his forehead.

Before I could reply, our radios turned on, and the Captain’s voice spilled out. “Everyone report in.”

Nivans clucked his tongue and pressed the radio, “Piers here. I’m on the third floor with the woman.” His eyes never wavered from my face.

My gaze lingered off of the Lieutenant and over towards the hole in the wall. It let in some light from the shaft, lighting up the dingy room. Nothing was here but some old crates of food and old personal items. The floor was filthy and if I had to guess, this place hasn’t ever been cleaned.

“Target is on the second floor. You all need to come here—now!” The radio went quiet, leaving Nivans and me in silence.

“You—”

“We should go.” My voice came out quieter than I wanted.

Nivans took a moment to scan me from head to foot; his eyes furrowed and his mouth carved into a hard line as he swept back up to my eyes. For a long, tense moment, I thought he would shoot me, but he didn’t. He straightened up and flicked his eyes to the door. “Yeah...we should.”

I was a little surprised he agreed so quickly. I was expecting a fight, but I guess the long night has gotten to him, or maybe he doesn’t care enough about me to put up a fight. I put my hands out, but instead of cuffing me like I thought he would, he shook his head.

“The cuffs will scrape up your hands more. Just stick beside me, but _if_ you try something, I won’t hesitate to shoot.”

Relieved I wouldn’t have to put the cuffs back on, I lowered my head with a nod and followed beside him into the hall.

Every step felt like I was walking over hot coals in the pits of hell. I wanted to scream but kept my mouth shut and my attention ahead of me. If my hands looked the way they did, I could only imagine the state of my feet. Chills raced down my spine at the images that flashed across my mind.

Nivans didn’t say much as we continued on our pursuit of the team, but I didn’t notice him reel back on his walking speed and stay by my side as we went along. He tried to play it off cooly, but I caught a few unsure glimpses of him as I hissed under my breath from stepping on my ankle wrong.

“You didn’t tell your Captain about my condition. Why?” I finally broke the silence between us.

Nivans’ shoulders tensed, and his mouth pursed before he answered. “Don’t worry, as soon as we’re done dealing with this BOW we’ll deal with you. We got enough on our hands as it is.”

A scream not far off from us echoed off the walls. Our radios crackled to life moments after. “That’s Jeff screaming! I’m coming, man! Just hang on!”

Captain Redfield’s voice broke in. “Marco, don’t move. Hold your position! Do you hear me? That’s an order!” My head cocked around when I could hear his voice behind me getting louder.

He spared us one glance and kept up a fast jog towards the other end of the hall where he tried to yank open a door, but it wouldn’t budge. Nivans jerked to attention and sprinted over towards his Captain, leaving me behind. With a glance and a head nod to each other, they stepped back and kicked the door in, only to reel away when one soldier fell through and landed on the ground.

"It's in there!" He groaned and started firing off at the BOW while climbing back up to his feet.

It was hard to see in the lighting, but I caught sight of the BOW slither back down an opening in the floor and out of sight.

“Ok, we find that piece of shit, and we put it down—fast and hard!” Chris growled out and started towards the door without looking back.

The soldier, I presumed to be Marco, followed closely behind his Captain. Nivans waited by the door as I hobbled over. He spared me one glance before giving the nod towards where his Captain went.

“Jeff!” Marco’s worried voice cut the air.

Following the sound, we found him kneeling over another team member’s body with his head lowered.

_This thing claimed three men so far. How many more is this thing going to kill before it’s stopped?_

I let my eyes linger on the sullen soldier as he stood back up to his full height and cursed the BOW.

No one said a thing, least of all Marco, as we continued down the hall. He seemed the most withdrawn and silent out of the three of the men. Captain Redfield still looked as angry as ever with his stiff back and tightened fists at his side. I couldn’t place the Lieutenant’s look. Where the Captain’s back looked straight and robust, the Lieutenants’ looked like it was about to break from all the weight on his shoulders. Only when he caught me staring did the droop to his face shift and replace it with a flat stare. The shutters behind his eyes fell once more.

The stench of rotting meat hung in the humid air. As soon as I turned the corner, I found the butchered animal carcasses hanging around the butcher’s shop. My feet stuck to the floor as I made my way inside, but paid it no heed as my eyes searched and scanned for any signs of the BOW.

“Where are you, you son of a bitch?” Nivans mumbled to my right as he scanned around the room, poking the barrel of his gun into some hanging meat with disgust before moving on to the next area.

A clang came to my left. I started for it, but paused mid-step when some black liquid poured down on my shoulder. “What is—”

“—CEILING!” Nivans screamed and opened fire above me.

The light from his muzzle flares lit up the gaping mouth above me. The teeth of the BOW twinkled a bright red as they adjusted in its mouth. My scream of a surprise cut off as a body slammed into me, knocking me to the sticky floor. The wind from the BOW launching whipped past my head and hit the ground with a crack. My mind raced a mile a second. The room danced around me with light and gunfire and screams. Hands roughly grabbed and pulled me to my feet and shuffled me over to where Nivans and the captain stood holding the BOW off.

“Thanks,” my head tilted in a small nod towards Marco as he retracted his hands to fire at the creature.

“‘Bout time you showed your ugly face.” Captain Redfield spat and aimed his gun at the BOW.

The BOW struck forward in a blur, slamming between Nivans and myself and narrowly missing us. The pain in my feet spread across my calves as I wobbled out of the way. Hands yanked me back before the BOW could snap again. More bullets caught in its gaping mouth, making it buck and roar before turning around and fleeing, leaving Nivans and myself to catch our breath.

“Thanks,” I said to him as he retracted his hand from my bicep and kept his eyes peeled around the room.

“It’s in the vent!” Marco yelled.

We powered onward—the men, more determined than ever—and myself, struggling to hide my growing discomfort gnawing at my legs.

It was Nivans who reached the door first and kicked it open and charged through. His grunt cut off as the body of the BOW darted between us and knocked him and Captain Redfield over the ledge and into some pit.

“Nivans! Redfield!” I darted to the ledge as the men gathered themselves back up. “You guys ok?”

"We're fine,” Nivans groaned as he got to his feet and shook himself off. “Where's the BOW?"

"It's here!" Chris yelled and dodged to the side as a form charged past him.

"Get back!" I stuck my arm out and moved Marco out of the way as the creature's tail flung up and whipped the wall above us.

“Its hide toughened up or something,” Nivans belted out over the roar of his gunfire. “Bullets aren’t doing anything to it!”

He was right. The bullets pelted off the creature’s hide like pebbles on the sidewalk. Muffled curses fell from my lips while my eyes scanned the vicinity for signs of the creature. I spotted it making a break for Captain Redfield. He dodged to the side just as the BOW snapped forward, missing him barely as he jumped across a pool of shallow water. The BOW struck, but a blast of blue light crackled across its body. Burning flesh prickled my nose, and the creature’s cries of pain cut off as the plug behind me came loose.

My eyes wandered from the electrical plug to over to the power station and strayed towards the exposed wires where the BOW’s back hit, and then an idea hit me.

“Marco!” The man jerked his attention my way. “We need to restore power to that station over there!”

He followed my line of sight towards the station across from us and then my finger pointing towards the plug beside us and nodded his head. “I’m on it!”

“Hey, Nivans!” The man’s eyes jumped to me. “Get to that station over there and pull the switch when the BOW is in position!” His gaze darted around a moment before landing on the station I was talking about.

“Way ahead of you!” He said and darted towards the ladder.

Marco huffed and grunted as he tried to lift the plug on his own. I turned to help him, but just as my feet pivoted, the plug snapped into place and short-circuited because of the water damage. Marco flew back with a cry. His arms slapped me across the head, sending me flying over the ledge and landing hard on my side with a scream.

“H-hey...Catherine!” Nivans yelled. My name sounded foreign coming from him. It took me a moment before realizing he was speaking to me.

I dragged my body to a sitting position, but my feet refused to get under my body. Fear gripped my chest as a large shape slithered closer. My mouth wouldn’t work. Fear gripped tight around my chest as a large shape slithered by and honed in on me. The BOW cracked open its mouth with a hiss, but a body jumped between us. Gunshots echoed off, and the BOW snapped to the side with a loud hiss before disappearing. When I regained my bearings, I stumbled to my feet and honed in on the side of the captain’s intense glare.

“Thanks,” I mumbled out as I shook off the pain from my landing.

He didn’t respond.

The tension was suffocating, and I didn’t know how to break it. He finally turned to face me fully. The fanatic shine to his eyes pierced through me. “Who are you?”

“Don’t you think we should discuss that later? We kinda got more pressing matters at the moment.”

Both our heads snapped to the side as the hissing grew louder. The BOW emerged from the darkness; its yellow eyes honed in on us as it let loose a loud screech. I turned on my heels and bolted around the corner with Captain Redfield at my side. Every contact with the ground sent electric shocks up my legs. My lungs burned from the effort, but the fast-approaching BOW behind us kept me pushing forward. The BOW darted around the corner and sprang forward; in that instant, both Redfield and I threw ourselves across the pool. The sound of the BOW hitting the live wires sent a chill through my body. The blast of light exploded from the cables, engulfing the BOW in blue electricity. It withered and spasmed and screamed until it fell to the ground with a thud.

The pounding of my heart hammered against my ears. It was so loud; I thought Redfield could hear it, but when I glanced over to him, his stare remained fixed on the fried corpse. The smell of burnt flesh brought me back as small fires engulfed the BOW’s body until nothing but a charred skeleton remained.

“Heh...we did it. We fried that son of a bitch!” Marco sputtered out and dragged himself to his hands and knees.

“Marco, are you okay?” I asked as his head slowly came into view above me and leaned over the ledge. “You look a little overdone. Feeling okay?”

“Just a little crispy...but fine,” he grunted and let down his arm. “At least we got it—the BOW I mean.”

“But no Ada yet,” Captain Redfield grumbled. “I’m not gonna rest until we have her head on a stick.”

His obsession with finding Ada is getting out of hand. I don’t like the look in his eyes as he started for the ledge and climbed up with Marco’s help.

“You good?” Nivans’ voice sounded so abrupt it took me off guard when he popped up into my view above me.

“...Ye-yeah.”

I stared at the hand he offered me for a few moments before he cleared his throat and gently gripped under my forearm and lifted me to my feet. Pain snapped through my legs and throbbed into my hips, but other than that, I could balance on my own.

He quickly retracted his hand away like I burned him and gave me a curt nod. “Good idea using the wires to fry the bastard.” He said over his shoulder and grabbed Marco’s hand and climbed up to the ledge, leaving me to balk at his back.

_Did he just compliment me?_

It took me a moment to realize Marco was talking to me. “Heh?”

He smiled and shook his hand in my face, prompting me to take hold of it so he could yank me up. I quickly dusted myself off and trailed after the three men, all the while keeping a sharp eye on the back of the Captain’s head. His attitude is _nothing_ like how I remembered it before. _What happened to you?_

We surveyed the building and came to another room. Windows lined the exterior wall, giving us a view of the burning city outside and a feel of the humid night air. Things were strewn about like trash—like most of this wrecked city— and the constant smell of decay made my stomach flip. A breeze blew through the broken windows, carrying with it a smell of smoke and trash. It caught in my lungs and twisted them around until I couldn’t hold back the coughing fit. My body lurched from the force and pain erupted across my ribs and sides with every jerk. When someone patted my back, I wanted to cry out for them to stop.

“Hey, you okay?” Marco’s voice came up beside my ear in a low whisper.

I tried to wave him off, but blood trickled out of my mouth and across my hand, sparking concern in his voice.

“Hey, something’s wrong with her! She needs help!”

That got the attention of the other two men. Their eyes ripped away from the room and settled on me. I tried to wave it off and tell them it was nothing, but the coughing left me no room to utter a word. My head cracked with a splitting headache pounded with every cough wracking my body, and my legs wobbled under me.

“What’s wrong with her?” I could hear Redfield utter.

“I don’t know; she just started coughing up blood.” Panic flooded Marco’s voice.

“This is crazy,” the anger in Nivans' voice bled through as he snapped at the captain. “It isn't safe here! We need to pull out!”

Marco reeled back with a stumble and a cry, cutting off all the voices.

I whipped my head up too fast, making my vision swim as I tried to focus on the man beside me. Just as my vision readjusted, a female voice cut through the air and directed my attention to Ada.

“Looking for me, boys? Welcome to China.” She propped herself off the windowsill she was relaxing on and lowered the gun she pointed at us.

“A-Ada! Wait!” I spit out.

Her eyes lingered on me a few moments before recognition dawned on her, and then a smug smile spread to her lips. She jumped out of the building with one move and was gone in an instant.

I threw my attention off the window and over to Marco as his cries of pain doubled. His body spasmed as he ripped the needle out of his neck and threw it to the ground. All his cries cut off as his body exploded in a fiery light that hardened into a cocoon.

My body refused to work at that moment as my brain caught up with reality. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Nivans whip his gun up, but Chris stopped him.

“Wait!” He cried out and grabbed Nivans’ gun, prompting the man to rip away and hold his gun up again.

“We have no choice!” Chris tried to stop him again, but Nivans wasn’t having any of it. “He'd do the same for us!”

All our eyes whipped up as the cocoon cracked open, and an explosion of flying insects poured out and cloaked the air like a black cloud. A final bug crawled out and took to the air, its massive hornet like body bobbed around as the other insects surrounded it.

“What is that?” I cried and darted to the side as the swarm moved closer.

"Doesn't matter. Just kill it!" Nivans snapped and fired off into the cloud.

Our bullets pelted through the horde like butter, but their numbers made it impossible to isolate the queen long enough for a clear shot. My eyes wandered off the insects for a moment and landed on the captain's silhouette. The icy feeling I got at the back of my neck travelled down my spine when our eyes locked. It felt like _I_ was the bug in the room, and the captain wanted nothing more than to stomp me out.

He fixed his stance and snapped his gun towards me. My body froze as he stared down the barrel of his rifle and squeezed the trigger. I held back a startled gasp as the bullets flew over my shoulder, striking the queen bug right through. It exploded across the floor along with the other smaller insects, leaving the room in silence once more.

Through the cracks of my eyes, Redfield lowered his gun and stormed past me without a sound. I held steady as my legs shook and weakened and finally allowed myself to breathe once more as he snatched up the abandoned C4, all that was left of Marco, and slammed it to the metal doors blocking our way.

I flinched at the explosion and spared a glance towards Nivans. He kept his heavy gaze glued to the back of his Captain’s head as we pressed forward to the next room.

Nervous, I strayed closer to Nivans and checked over my hands. It seems like during the scuffle; they ripped open more. The smell of rot was worse than ever, and the sores broke open, spilling out a puss with it. I shook my head and stuffed them back into the gloves and kept moving.

Captain Redfield hadn’t said a word since back there. The tension in the air was becoming too suffocating to handle anymore. I needed to get out of this place. He halted and snapped his head towards me. “You’re not with National Security, are you? You’re not even with the government.”

The room’s temperature dropped, and the chill at the base of my neck spread to my core, leaving my body in goosebumps.

“That’s what you told us in Edonia, well where’s your badge—or your superiors?” He stepped towards me. “You said you were in Edonia to help, but that was a lie, too, wasn’t it?”

“Ye-yes—no! I’m not with National Security. I lied about that, but I _was_ there to help.” I fumbled with my words, trying to get my thoughts right.

His shoulders tensed as his face darkened. “You and Ada are working together. You two were there in Marhawa when the attack broke out, _and_ the both of you were there in Edonia...and now here you are again.” The click of his gun sent the alarms in my head off.

I stared down the barrel of his gun and swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yes, I know Ada, but it's not like—”

His wild eyes crushed me under their stare. Nivans held off to the side, his head bobbing between the two of us like a bobblehead. “Chris, we need to—”

But it was no use. Chris lurched forward, grabbed me by the collar of my suit and slammed me into the wall. All the breath released from me in a scream as pain shot through my limbs.

"Chris! Put her down!" Nivans darted forward, but Chris didn't budge.

His body shook as he screamed, “She’s the cause of all this! She’s working with Ada!”

“N-n...no...I’m...no...t.” My body refused to move. The throbbing pain cut through me like a thousand knives dragging over my skin.

“YOU KILLED MY MEN!!”

“Captain? CHRIS!” Nivans screamed.

“I...uh--I sw...ear…” The room darkened, and voices filled my head. “I sw...ea...r…”

The dirty smells of the air faded away and was replaced with the fresh smell of cookies. Standing in the apartment doorway was a blonde woman, and her smile filled me with relief and hope. The surrounding apartment was in shambles; everything was toppled over and strewn over. Another woman behind me sank to the floor. She placed her head on her knees. As I stared around the room, he was nowhere to be found. I turned back towards the blonde woman; I wanted to run to her, but enormous hands grabbed and yanked me back. I reached out to scream to her, but my voice wouldn’t work. Her face faded, and the metal ceiling and broken down building came back into focus.

_Where was I? What happened?_

Two shadows stood above me, their raised voices becoming louder as everything became clearer. Nivans grabbed Redfield by his shoulders and shook him, doubling my confusion. “I feel sorry for all the men that died believing in you! What happened to the legendary Chris Redfield, huh? What happened to you?”

“Shut up!” Redfield grabbed back and whipped Nivans into the wall behind him, but even still, Nivans didn’t back down.

“It’s a good thing Finn isn’t here to see you this way!”

At the mention of his name, images of the young rookie flooded my mind. His young face twisted with fear as he clenched my hand, and the fear in those eyes as I slipped out of his grasp. I bobbed my head around the room, expecting him to be there magically.

Redfield snapped and shoved Nivans away with a scream, drawing my attention back to the two men. “SHUT UP!”

The two men heaved and gasped as they caught their breath. Redfield straightened up first, staring down his nose at Nivans. “I’m going after Ada.” He pressed a finger to his radio, “HQ, this is Alpha leader. I need a location on Ada Wong.”

"I'm going with you," Nivans said at last and turned to face his captain with disdain. "Someone has to keep an eye on you—whether you want them to or not."

Captain Redfield clamped his mouth shut and said nothing as his glare flickered off his Lieutenant and down to me. His lip twitched into a snarl and his hands fisted at his sides, I could even see his shoulders shake as he whipped around and stormed off.

With him gone, I lowered my head to the floor with a sigh and probed the tender muscles in my neck, wincing as I felt the bruises form. I jumped when Nivans’ face swooped down to my level. His eyes burned into my face.

“I don’t care about the reason; just tell me yes or no...are you working with Ada Wong?”

My patience snapped at last. My eyes and head raised, and my lips pulled back in a snarl, “You guys aren’t listening to me!” My voice came out in a hoarse shout. “I’m not working with Ada. How many times do I have to tell you, huh? Isn’t it enough that I helped you guys in Edonia? And what about here? I’m helping you track down these fucking BOWs and get attacked while doing it. Does that sound like I’m with Ada?”

“But you said you knew her?”

“Yes! I know her! I’ve known her for years!” I threw my arms out and heaved myself to my feet. “That’s why it came to a huge surprise to me when I figured out she’s been behind these attacks. I’ve been tracking her down since Marhawa. I was in Edonia trying to find her, but then I got caught up with you guys,” I jabbed him in the chest, making him grunt. “And then there was Tall Oaks. I was there to track her down when everything went to shit, and her little pets almost killed me! Now she’s with this guy named Derek Simmons, and they’ve been orchestrating everything from here. That's when I got attacked by one of her freaks in her mansion. Now I’m here being attacked by you guys!” I gasped and panted as my heart rate soared, and the pounding in my ears was too loud to hear anything.

I jumped when Nivans clamped his hands around my biceps and gave me a light shake. “All right, all right! Your makin’ my ears ring.” He huffed and kept me steady as he searched my face. After a few long moments, he nodded his head and relaxed his face. “So you’re tryin’ to stop Ada as well? Okay, then help us track her down. You knew her, right? Well, where would she be?”

“You think if I knew that I would tag along with you and Robocop over there?” I jabbed a finger towards Chris as he spoke to HQ. My shoulders heaved as my anger ripped through me, and my patience was on the verge of snapping.

A moment passed, and Nivans stiffened and pressed a finger to his radio. His head bobbed, and his attention flickered towards his Captain as the latter mentioned man stormed through the door. Nivans sighed and turned back to me, “HQ has a hit on Ada Wong.”

“Fine. Let’s go.” I paused as he held me back.

“We can’t guarantee things won’t get messy when we find her. If push comes to shove…”

“Ada has shoved me beyond the point of forgiveness.” I held his gaze. “If things come to that...you gotta do what you gotta do to save this city from becoming another Raccoon City incident, or Edonia.”

The corner of his mouth turned up, but he shoved it back down and nodded towards the doors Chris disappeared through. “C’mon. We gotta keep him in check too.” 


	5. Kawanwing River

Chris stormed ahead of us as Nivans and myself tried to keep up the pace. My feet splashed through the greasy-looking puddles, dirt and grime of the alleyway. My throat burned as I tried swallowing; it stung even more as I rubbed at it. Undoubtedly, bruises were forming already.

I cursed under my breath as I glared at the back of Chris’ head. Guess I couldn’t outright blame him...it did look mighty suspicious of me always being there when the attacks popped up. Still...he could have been a little more gentle.

The screams of the night echoed in the air. Gunshots sounded both close and far as we turned the corner. The taste of motor oil and death stuck inside my mouth as we passed under a flickering street light that barely gave off any light at all. My chest tightened, and it grew strenuous to breathe. I tripped over my feet but caught myself before I could fall.

Nivans slowed down, his eyebrows drawing together, and his face tightening as he leaned closer. “You good?”

“Don’t worry ’bout me.” Straightening up, I cleared my throat, “Where was this hit on Ada located?”

He pursed his lips. After a long moment, he continued after his Captain. “They spotted her heading to the Kawanwing River. It’s not far from here, but we have to hurry.”

“Can the chatter,” Chris growled and paused in the middle of the street. “What the—”

We paused close behind him, my ears perked as a haunting sound roared. It grew deeper and more mechanical. My head snapped around, searching for the source, but I couldn’t find it. Then, all three of us shot around, flicking our eyes above as a horn from a train blasted, and a body crashed to the dirt.

I reeled back as the body crawled to its feet and jerked around. It wasn’t human, but it probably was before Neo-Umbrella got to it. Mutilated pink flesh twisted over the thing’s body and hung off in sections. It twitched and spasmed as it roared our way. Its crazed eyes honed in on us and whipped around the chainsaw in its hand.

“Another one of Umbrella’s freaks?” Piers whipped up his gun.

“Don’t talk, just kill it,” Chris growled out and fired first.

I stood to the side as the men dodged around the BOW, firing off round after round into it, but it still didn’t fall.

“Our bullets aren’t doing anything! It just keeps healing itself.” Piers said and whipped to the side to dodge a swing from the chainsaw.

Chris pulled back and kicked the BOW in the stomach, knocking it off balance as he got in closer and landed a punch to the things head with a crack. The side of its face exploded into a mess of spores and blood as the thing healed itself.

That’s when I took notice of the chainsaw in its hand—or what I assumed was a chainsaw. The chainsaw was the thing’s hand. Carved from bone and flesh, it roared to life as the BOW refocused itself and let out a deafening screech and turned its sights onto me.

“Shit!” I screamed and bolted around the creature.

My eyesight faded in and out as I limped across the street. My limbs didn’t want to respond to how I wanted them to. They lagged as if I was hauling cement inside me and grew tired quickly.

“Catherine, look out!”

Piers’ warning came just in time; I ducked as the chainsaw whished overhead and sliced through the scaffolding above me. The mess crashed down with a roar and knocked me on my back with a cry as the gravel dug into me.

“Piers!” Chris called out over his gunshots.

I noticed Chris had made it across before the crash and was now leading the BOW away from me. I tilted my head around, but couldn’t find Piers anywhere in sight.

“I’m blocked off, Captain! I need to find another way around!”

“Just hurry up and find another way over!” Chris barked back and kicked the BOW away again.

Carefully, I crawl back to my feet, concealing the pain as I rolled my shoulders and squared off with the BOW. Chris hoovered to my left; I could feel his eyes on the side of my face as I reached for my knife and snatched it free. Gradually, my attention drifted towards Chris; his haughty stare lingered on my knife before swivelling his attention up to my face.

The moment came to a swift end as the BOW jumped between us with a roar and lunged for me. I backed away and rounded it as Chris fired off at its back. More gunshots met him as a group of J’avo jumped down from the buildings around us and through the shadows.

“Great...just what we needed,” He mumbled and fired off at the closest one.

“Hold tight! I’ll handle the J’avo!” I heard Piers scream out from somewhere, but I couldn’t tell where.

His gunshots rang through the air, picking off the advancing J’avo racing towards me as I scrambled out of the BOW’s way.

It hacked at the air, slicing back and forth with its chainsaw to deliver a hit. I staggered backward as my feet twitched with pain. My back slammed into something firm; turning around, it was a pile of wood planks. I grasped one in my hands and whipped it at the BOW, striking it on the side. It fumbled backwards into a bucket and tipped over.

J’avo took his place; they ran and slashed towards me. I clutched my knife tight and heaved it above my head, when single shots rang out, striking the J’avo down. Shifting my attention over towards the roofs, I spotted Piers making his way across them and down the scaffolding.

I jerked as a J’avo popped in front of me with its jaw dangling open in a silent roar. Before it could take another step, a bullet punctured through its skull and splattering blood across the ground. Confused, I turned around and met Chris’ stare as he lowered his gun. The moment was cut as a J’avo jumped behind him. My knife launched over Chris’ shoulder and landed through the J’avo’s eye, where it sank to the ground with a cry.

His wide-eyed stare shoots over his shoulder and down to the J’avo. I could see his shoulders tense as he jerked away when more J’avo came at him. They forced him back and further into the construction zone.

I made a move to help him but was instantly stopped when the BOW’s roar cut through the air. Lurching around, I found it twitching and jerking towards me with its chainsaw high over its head. I bolted down the zone, zig-zagging around debris as it closed in on me. I risked a look over my shoulder but yelped as my foot caught on something and sent me crashing to the ground.

I gnaw my lip to hold off a scream; the taste of iron filled my mouth as I pried myself up, but couldn’t stand. I shot around as the BOW ran towards me, whipping its chainsaw back and forth as it got closer. I tried standing up but fell back down. Dragging myself along, I called out for help with my radio when I couldn’t find Chris or Piers anywhere.

“Guys! Could use a little help—AHH!”

I froze as the BOW towered over me, waiting for the strike. A yellow bus plowed through the scene, hitting the BOW and hurling it into a brick wall with a crash. My jaw hung open as Piers kicked the driver’s door open and jumped out of the bus and dashed towards me.

“Jesus Christ...where did you get the bus?” I asked, staring at the wreck as he picked me up.

“It was abandoned in the street. Thought it would do better than our bullets...apparently, it did.” He said while Chris jogged up beside us, his eyes glued to the wreck.

“HQ to Alpha,” our radios sounded off. “Ada Wong has been spotted going down the river. You can still intercept her if you run!”

Chris jerked up and stormed ahead. “Run all you want, Ada. Piers!” He called over his shoulder without pausing to see if he was following.

I caught Piers’ gaze under all the dirt and grime on his face. He looked exhausted and worn down, but still, he took off after his Captain at a swift pace. Giving the wreckage one more glance over, I caught up with the men, wincing as my body cried out for a break.

By the time we reached the docks, I was prepared to give up and lie down, but I held firm as I heard Chris screaming ahead of me.

“ADA!”

I perked up at the mention of her name and bolted to the edge of the water where the two men stood. My eyes locked on to Ada at the other end of the river, standing on her ski-doo. Her smirk curled her eyes and lips, boiling my blood.

“Captain, get a hold of yourself!” Piers cut in and held his Captain back as Ada got away. “That helo’s about to open up on us!”

Chris lingered on where Ada disappeared to and up to the helicopter above.

“We need to find cover!” Piers screamed over the helicopter’s blades.

“Damn it! Run for it!” Chris finally broke out of his trance and took off over the boats and docks with Piers and myself hot on his heels. I didn’t have to be told twice to move my butt; the helicopter’s gunshots did that for me.

My head flung to the side as J’avo with rifles appeared. Their shots flew around me and pelted the water and docks as I tried to maintain my balance.

“Ignore them—just keep running!” Chris roared and shoved a J’avo out of the way and kept going.

I fell behind, my breathing labouring again as the adrenaline started to wear off, and all the pain engulfed me. I jerked forward as Piers grasped my hand and gave it a yank.

“Don’t fall behind now! Keep going!”

“This way!” Chris cut in and pointed to a waterfront restaurant up ahead.

I wanted to cry. It felt like my feet were going to fall off at any moment. The smell of rot from my hands wafted into my face.

I collapsed into Piers as we dove into the restaurant. My head sank as I tried to regain my breath. Piers lowered my hand, but his warmth still lingered in it.

The helicopter fired inside the restaurant, ripping apart the furniture and decore. I dropped to my knees to avoid being hit and tucked my head as pieces of dishware assaulted me. Piers’ presence appeared beside me. Glancing over, he too covered his head as more debris rained down on us. It wasn’t until the gunshots stopped, did we get back up.

It seemed like no matter what we did tonight; we could never advance. The chainsaw’s sound ripped the air like a mockery, and J’avo charged through the balcony where Chris held them off. Fires popped up around us as the helicopter’s spotlight scoped the area out.

My body stiffened as the chainsaw BOW broke through the wall with a roar. It's face twisted beyond recognition as it honed in on Piers and me. The angered roar it let out unsettled me to the bones.

“You gotta’ be kidding me! It’s back?” Piers gaped at the BOW with a clenched shut jaw.

“What do we do?” I asked, unable to take my eyes off the monster.

“Find a way to kill it!” He said and turned back towards the J’avo running at him. He fired off into the horde as the helicopter launched in another barrage of bullets that kicked up debris into our faces.

My head snapped around the room, landing on the broken plates. I clutched them and started hurling them at the BOW to slow it down. My teeth hurt from clenching them so hard. It was no use. “I need a gun!” I yelled over the roars of the J’avo and the BOW.

Piers couldn’t reply. The BOW snapped around and dashed towards him, reeling back its arm with a roar. Piers caught sight of the BOW and dodged out of the way in the nick of time. The chainsaw ripped through support beams and tables as it charged through the restaurant. He maneuvered closer to the balcony, firing off whenever the BOW tried to get back to me until they were both finally outside. I was left to fend for myself with a group of J’avo.

“Well...what am I supposed to do now?!” I screamed, but no one answered me.

I twirled around just as a J’avo was thrown through a window and landed at my feet. It scrambled up while clutching its arm. It pulsated and cracked until it exploded into an insectoid limb. It whipped in the air and over my head, smashing the china cabinet behind me. The dishes beat over my head and down my back, slicing me open and making me stumble. I grabbed ahold of the chair and flung it at the J’avo. It slapped it out of the air with a cry and turned its yellow eyes onto me.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears, blocking out the sounds around me as I tried keeping my balance, but the world kept spinning around me. That’s when the explosion outside sounded off. It blew the shutters off the windows and sent a wave of heat and fire into my face, making me cough as the smoke tickled my throat.

The helicopter crashed into the balcony, kicking up flames of fire across the wooden beams before collapsing into the water. In my distraction, the J’avo grabbed ahold of me and whipped me through the air. I crashed into the burning wall with a scream and landed in a heap as the fires broke out around me, cutting me off from everyone else.

“Catherine, look out!” Piers’ voice broke through the crackling of the fire.

I crawled to my feet as the sound of the chainsaw beat down in front of me. I only had time to reel back before the thing ripped through the air and carved through the floor at my feet, breaking it open and sending up a wall of heat into my face. I pushed back as the BOW flew forward but froze when gunfire nailed it in the shoulder and back of the head.

Wheeling around, Piers broke through the wall of flames, his face twisted in rage as he fired off at the BOW. The monster’s scream had my ears ringing as it charged the man, swinging its chainsaw around and cutting through the support beams in its way. The wood planks crumbled to the floor, sending the flames up higher as it stumbled over them to get to Piers. One beam crashed to the floor, kicking up the fire and making me slip into the gaping hole behind me. My hand darted out and snatched hold of the wood, saving me from falling into the fire below.

“Catherine!” Piers shouted.

“I...I’m...o...k…” I said as I dangled in the air, my hands burning as I felt the skin tearing open and the muscles giving out and my hand slipping.

The fire burned the base of my feet as I tried getting a grip on the burnt wood, but nothing I did was working; I clenched my eyes fastened as I held on for dear life. The BOW must have heard my yelp and cries and swung around. It spotted me dangling and charged me. It got two steps in when the planks under him gave out, and the whole section collapsed in on itself.

My eyes ripped from the BOW’s angry roars and up to Piers; his cries cut through the air and disturbed me. A piece of burning wood toppled and struck him in the shoulder, knocking him down and pinning him there. I could only open my mouth, but my words melted into screams as my hand slipped, and I was airborne. I braced for the fire to engulf me, but it never came. Instead, I hit something hard, crashing below and rolled into the frigid water.

The sudden cold of the water hit me like a hard slap. I could have sworn someone screamed my name, but I couldn’t tell with all the building’s noise and chaos collapsing.

Wood planks crashed through the water around me, blocking out the orange glow above. Shapes swirled past and distant voices turned to laughter. A little boy’s face smiled at me; his chubby cheeks forced his eyes up, making him squint. His crooked smile and laugh were contagious, but his smile vanished just as fast as he appeared. The smiling boy’s image whipped away on the echoing screams and cries of children, and the shadow of a fair-haired man took his place.

My lungs burned as I slashed my way to the surface. Debris bobbed at the surface, allowing only beams of light to trickle through the mess. I thrust them aside as I navigated through the dark waters and plowed through the surface for a much-needed breath. I clawed at the floating log and heaved on it to give my aching limbs a moment’s rest. But my eyes flickered up as the building moaned and groaned until the structure couldn’t hold itself up any longer and collapsed into a flaming heap.

“P...Piers…” I tried speaking, but my voice would only come out as a pained whisper.

My head pounded, and my limbs wouldn’t move. My vision swam until the world turned murky around me.

* * *

I was startled awake by someone shaking me. Confused, my eyes snapped open, and my head swivelled around until my eyes landed on a blonde figure above me. Her startling blue eyes crinkled in the corners, and the deep lines on her forehead made her appear older than she was.

“Sh...err...y? What’re you doing here? AH!” She yanked me to my feet.

“There’s no time! Hurry!”

My feet stumbled as I jerked my eyes away from her face and on gunshots’ sound and screams. That terrible mechanical noise consumed my ears and clenched my heart.

When my eyes found the group of shadows off in front of me, my confusion melted away to fear. Jake was holding his ground against the chainsaw BOW along with a group of J’avo. He punched and knocked them away, spinning around and landing a bullet into the J’avo’s heads.

“This prick won’t give up!” He screamed as he ducked under a swing from the chainsaw BOW.

My eyes rounded. “That thing is still alive?!”

At the sound of my voice, Jake’s head whipped around, his eyes landing on me for a brief moment before turning back to the J’avo around him. “Well, welcome back to the land of the damned, Sleeping Beauty. You’re just in time to watch this fucker die!”

He whirled around, whipping out his leg and flung it into the BOW’s stomach, sending it flying into the Neon sign behind. Its body twisted and jerked as the electrical current ripped through its body, sending a disgusting smell of burnt flesh. Its cries gave out, and it stumbled lifelessly into the water below with a splash. No one had time to blink before the sign started to groan and tip forward.

“Look out!” Sherry cried to me and hauled me back as the sign crumpled down and crashed into the water and over where the BOW fell in.

_It’s over now, right?_

“Jesus, that thing was more annoying than an ex that can’t take a hint! The hell happened to you?”

My head bobbed away from the mess and over to Jake’s furrowed brows and listless eyes as he made his way over to Sherry and me. His attention dragged from us and back over to the buildings where more J’avo poured in.

“Really? More of yea?” His irritated tsk fell on deaf ears as more gunshots rang off.

I was going to help him, but Sherry’s hand latched onto me and hauled me off to the side. “What’s going on?” I asked her as she led me down the pile of debris. My bones ached, but I shoved that problem to the back of my head as I watched Jake fighting off the J’avo himself.

“We need to get to the boat!”

I whisked around but froze on a pile of debris to the side. The glint of light flickered off the metal, capturing my eye as I wrestled over towards the gun.

“What’s wrong?” Sherry cried and skidded to a stop.

Disregarding her, I yanked the burnt pieces off and threw the chunks to the side and pulled out the anti-material rifle. The BSAA emblem engraved on the side helped me remember. My head flung up in an instant and hastily scanned the debris around me. I couldn’t see anything, no signs of bodies or clues as to what happened to them.

_Are they okay?_

“Sherry!” Jake screamed, flinging me back to the moment.

I spun around just as the BOW sprang from the water and landed in front of Sherry with a growl. It whipped its chainsaw towards her, missing her by a fraction of an inch and struck the cable. It let go like a spring and slashed Sherry across the arm, throwing her to the dirt with a scream.

“Sherry!” My arms were up, and my scope was on the BOW in an instant. My shot fired off, hurting my shoulder and sending the BOW flailing back into the water.

_Jesus, this thing kicks...how does he manage it?_

“You alright, Supergirl?” Jake raced over and skidded over to Sherry and lent her a hand to her feet.

I watched to the side in awe as the deep wound across her shoulder closed up instantly.

“Wait—” I stopped midsentence and flung around as the BOW’s claws broke through the water.

“This freak won’t stay dead!” Jake hauled Sherry to her feet and started to steer her down towards the boat.

I stood back and fired another round, striking it through the head and knocking it off its feet. But I know it won’t hold it down for long.

Turning on my heels, I ran as fast as I could down to the boat where Jake and Sherry were already waiting for me and jumped aboard. With a moment to breathe, I spun around and met Jake and Sherry’s gazes head-on. “What the hell is going on around here? What happened to your wound?”

Sherry shifted on her feet, her gaze flicking up to Jake before answering in a small voice. “It’s...a long story—we thought we lost you. Why did you leave?” Her blatant attempt at shifting the subject didn’t go unnoticed, but I let the matter drop and let out a deep breath.

“I tried to get back to you guys, but I got...held up.” My eyes dragged over the water’s edge, hoping to catch a glimpse of either Chris or Piers again.

“Why were you passed out on the shore?” Jake filled the silence.

I clenched my fist, wincing as it brought on an intense pain up to my shoulder. “That damn BOW showed up and wrecked everything. That and J’avo attacked us.”

Jake’s eyebrows cocked on his forehead. “Us?”

“Yeah. Chris and Piers from the BSAA,” I said and turned to face the two. “Speaking of which, I was with them when that BOW attacked me. Did you guys see them by any chance?”

Jake clucked his tongue with a huff, “No. And good riddance. I had enough of the wonder Boys for a lifetime.”

“Wonder Boys?” I asked.

Sherry perked up, “Wait! Chris is here with you?” Her eyes drifted over the area, thinking he’d just spring out at the mention of his name.

“Yeah. After we had separated, I kinda got pulled along with them.”

She opened her mouth to say more but clamped it shut when something launched from the water and landed on the boat with a roar. The BOW thrust its head and revealed its chainsaw limb as it shifted its eyes onto all three of us.

“For fuck sakes! You again?! How many times do we have to kill this asshole?” Jake bellowed and clutched at the wheel of the boat.

“Never mind that, just drive the boat!” I hollered back and lifted my gun.

Mine and Sherry's gunshots pelted the creature, knicking it back as it tried to get closer to Jake. It exploded into a fit of rage and swung and hacked at the air as it ran towards us. Our bullets did barely anything to stop it. I flung to the side to avoid another swing and grimaced as my feet burned from the sudden movement.

I slammed to my knees as the boat crashed into some debris. I had only a moment to blink before Sherry stumbled and crashed into the filthy water with a cry.

“SHERRY!” Jake and I cried out at once. My eyes cut to the water, searching for the woman. A breath for relief escaped my mouth as her blonde hair bobbed on the surface.

“Just keep going!” She cried and paddled to the shore.

The BOW came back for another swing. Jake released his grip on the wheel, dashed across the boat, reeled back his fist, and rammed it into the BOW’s head. It fumbled forward and swung around. Jake ducked under the swing and broke away to pull out his gun.

The sound of something whipping reached my ears. Jake snatched his eyes away from the BOW for a moment to stare beyond my shoulder. His eyes narrowed as something behind us seized his attention.

The half-demolished helicopter still roared to life; its blades cut through the air like knives as it sat in the water aflame. Our boat drifted on a once course route right towards it and speeding up.

I flipped around, lifted my gun and pulled the trigger, but the mocking sound of a click laughed at me. “Shit! I’m outta bullets! The helicopter—”

“I know! I see it! But this asshole won’t stop!”

The BOW lunged towards me, its eyes as sharp as pins as it towered above. A single shot rang out in the air, striking the BOW through the head and toppling it on its back. It hadn't hit the ground before Jake ran at me, snatching me and flinging us into the water.

I broke through the surface with a cough; water trickled down my throat as I watched the boat and BOW get sucked inside the helicopter’s blades. It crawled to its feet and got sucked inside. Blood and gore whipped in the air like a thick cloud, cutting off its cries once and for all. We bobbed in the water in silence for a moment before turning around and spotting Sherry on the docks waving at us.

“Worst boat ride since the Titanic,” Jake grunted out as he pulled himself up onto the dock. “You okay, Deadshot?”

I crawled out of the water with a nod and a clenched jaw as the pain crashed down upon me. I managed to crawl to my feet, but my legs didn’t want to move any farther. They shook and jerked as I forced them to stay under me.

“What’s wrong?” I overheard Jake ask, but I couldn’t open my eyes through the pain.

“Nothing. Just...hurt my leg is all. Who fired that shot?”

“I...I’m not sure.” Sherry piped in.

“Well, whoever they were, they saved us back there.” I jerked as I felt Jake’s hand on my shoulder. “Can you stand up?”

“Y-Yea...I think...so.” I took one step but collapsed to the ground. Thankfully, Jake gripped my arm before I could hit the ground, eased me back up, draped my arm over his shoulder and propped me up.

“After you, Supergirl.” He fostered to Sherry and gave me a nod.

My eyes wandered over the area. No signs of movement could be seen, but yet, I still searched for them. It was a sniper shot...maybe it was Piers?

_But where are they then?_

Jake hauled me along the docks and up a set of stairs but stopped behind Sherry as she paused outside some metal doors.

“If Leon is right,” she said and turned to face us; her face tense as she held her arms close to her, “I want you two to run. No matter what happens...promise me.”

“Wha...who—”

Jake cut me off, “Fine.”

Blinking, I looked between the two in hopes of clarity. “But I don’t ...wait—”

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.” Jake brushed me off and yanked me along behind Sherry.

The sound of trains carried out from inside the room or what I assumed was a train station at one point but now looked like the shell of one. Inside the room, six people were already there; four on top, one older man with a white lab coat and three men in suits behind him holding guns. They levelled them down on the other two people; a blond man and a younger woman, they too, had their weapons trained on the group above.

“Wait!” Sherry yelled and ran up towards the blond man and young woman, who did a double-take as Sherry appeared.

“Ah, Agent Birkin,” The man in the white lab coat said casually. “Impeccable timing. Kindly take these two into custody, won’t you?”

“They said you were involved in the terrorist attack. Is it true?” Sherry asked, earning a heated glower at the man in the lab coat.

“What, are they running down the streets—screaming it to anyone who’ll listen?”

“Answer me!”

By this time, Jake and I made it up beside her; my pain sidelined as I followed the exchange.

The man with the white lab coat tossed his hands into the air, a lazy smile dotting his wiry face. “It is for the benefit of the United States and Global Security.”

It was the blond man that stepped forward and jabbed his gun in the air as he growled. “Can’t see how killing the president is good for the country!”

My shock mirrored Sherry’s after he had said that. I knew Tall Oaks was a disaster, but I assumed the president got away. Holy Crap…

“The president is dead?” Sherry asked appalled.

“Well, we have Leon to thank for that.” The man sneered.

“God damn you, Simmons!” The younger woman beside the blond man yelled.

My ears perked up at the name’s mention and my head flung up towards the man on the ledge.

_Simmons…_

_Derek Simmons?_

My knuckles and my jaw hurt from clenching so hard. I forced Jake away and jabbed a finger in the air towards Simmons. “You’re Derek Simmons?”

Everyone’s eyes, including Simmons’, turned over to me. His eyebrow curved in a lazy arc as he took in my sight head to toe. “And you are?”

“I know what you did in Tall Oaks—I was there! I found your lab and your emails to Ada Wong! I know she’s behind Edonia too and Marhawa.”

His face didn’t change through my little speech. He paused for one moment before waving us off and whispered to his thugs behind him, “dispose of them.”

I scarcely had time to breathe before a barrage of bullets pelted down on us. Jake rammed into me, jostling me behind some cargo crates.

“You need to be more careful!” Was the first thing Leon shouted at Sherry as they made it behind the cargo boxes with us. I guess they were acquainted?

“Alright. Alright.” Jake cut in between the two. “So, what’s the plan, Hero?”

It was the young woman next to Leon that spoke up. “We need to finish Simmons.”

“Great! Let’s waste them then.” Jake smiled and made a move to pull his sidearm out, but Leon stopped him with one glance.

“I need you to take care of Sherry.” He jerked his chin over our shoulder and towards a set of doors on the other side. “Can you make it to that door?”

Jake tsked and whirled around to face Leon. “We’ve been through a hell of a lot worse tonight than this.”

It was Sherry that broke the tension between the two men. “I have something for you. It can stop the C-virus—Simmons wants it.” She said while yanking out her USB stick from her pocket and handing it over to Leon. He gladly took it and slipped it into his vest pocket.

We all reeled back as a line of bullets pelted the side of the boxes. “Can we wrap this up? I do have better things to do.” Simmons’ voice purred with a hint of tension behind it.

I was tired of sitting silently. “I’m not leaving without Simmons. He owes me answers.”

“And who are you?” Leon’s gaze landed on my own.

“I’m here to investigate Simmons and Ada’s involvement in all of this,” I said firmly. “I want answers, and I’m not leaving without them.”

“We don’t have time for this. We can get your answers later.” Jake snarled and reached over to grab my bicep. I protested, but he ignored my cries and gave Leon a firm nod and glare.

Leon answered with taking out his guns and giving the nod in return. “Now, go!” He yelled and dashed around the corner and fired into the group above.

“Jake, wait!” I shouted, but the man ignored me and towed me into the open.

Leon and his partner held off Simmons and his goons while Jake, Sherry and I bolted for the door.

Simmons’ form slid past his goons and out of sight. He was slipping from my fingers once again, and I was right here in front of him, letting it happen!

_Not again, you aren’t, you bastard!_

My heels dug into the ground as I yanked back, causing Jake to tilt his head around. While doing so, I launched forward, snatched his gun and wrenched my arm out from his grip and dashed for Simmons.

“Catherine! Stop!” Jake yelled, but I ignored him as I raised the gun and fired one shot off, missing Simmons, but catching his attention.

Our eyes locked as I raised the gun once more. I could see the sheen of sweat plastering his face as I squeezed the trigger. Something hot ripped through my thigh, flinging me to the ground and making me miss my shot. My cries hurt my ears as I hit the floor. Hot liquid poured down my leg as the room above me shifted in and out of focus.

Hands grabbed at me, and gunshots assaulted my ears as I was hauled backwards. A body dove in front of me, the back of his blond head visible through my failing eyes. As I glanced past Leon’s form, I spotted Simmons stumbling out of sight. No…

As I tried to sit up, Jake’s red hot face came into focus. “The hell were you thinking’ runnin’ out like that, huh? You trying to get yourself killed?”

“I—Simmons...we need to get Sim...mons.”

He gripped my shoulders and shook me, giving me a headache and making me nauseous. “I know! But there are better ways besides doing a suicide run!”

His eyes flickered up over my head and across the room, then back down to me. The gunshots rang out around us, hitting the cement pillar Jake dragged me behind and sending up debris in my face. “Damn it! We can still make it to those doors. We gotta' get outta here!”

The thought of leaving to run away and letting Simmons go turned my stomach. “N...no…”

“C’mon!” He hissed and yanked me up.

My head bobbed around, turning to Leon as the man took down Simmons’ men’s at last and bolted after the man. I could still make it to them if I run.

I winced as I put pressure on my leg. I could still make it. I know I can.

Jake kicked in the doors, charging down the hall behind Sherry and around the corner.

My attention shifted off the way we came and towards the J’avo that appeared out of the shadows. They blocked Jake and me off from Sherry. They wrenched her around and held her close as she wiggled and screamed.

Jake lowered me to the ground before darting at one beside him. He kicked in its nose and backhanding another while a third jumped on his back and held him down. Three more grabbed at Jake, holding him back as he tried to make it to Sherry. “Sherry!” He yelled, but I hardly heard him as the world faded out into the blackness.

The last thing I saw was the hideous face of a J’avo kneeling in front of me. Its six eyes were glinting in the low light as it grabbed me.


	6. If this is how it ends...

Fresh baked cookies wafter through the apartment and wrapped me up like a warm, soft blanket. All the tension melted away in an instant as I sat down on the couch next to her. Her face was out of focus; no matter how hard I tried to look, it wouldn't come clear. I know she had honey-coloured eyes, as soft as her wide smile...I remember she did. Her blonde hair made it look like a halo was over her head as she looked at me.

The chocolate chip cookies melted in my mouth and warmed my belly as she talked about her day. I never felt so at home as I did then. My body sank into the couch as a crooked smile cracked my tear-stained cheeks, and my eyes drifted closed. Her voice grew fainter and stiffer until it turned into an annoying buzz.

The cold leaked into my stiff back, and my limbs burned as if they were on fire. It took several moments before I could force my eyes open but immediately closed them as the lights blinded me. My eyes cracked open again, this time, prepared for the fluorescent lights above. They buzzed their annoying song and flickered as I laid under them. A splitting headache threatened to split my head into two as it crawled down to the base of my neck and churned my stomach.

The blonde woman was nowhere to be seen as I flicked my eyes around the room, searching for her. I didn't have the strength to lift myself off the medical table and ended up crashing back down on it with a cry. The constant buzzing above irritated me to the core. The repetitive sound of dripping grated on my ears, and the dampness in the air clawed at my chest and made it hard to breathe.

My laboured breathing, the dripping and the hum of the lights were all I could make out. I tried to move my hands, but even that was a task to do and ended up in failure. Cold sweat and chills ran across my body, leaving me in a thin layer of sweat and my teeth chattering. The clicking of my teeth hurt my head and neck, but I couldn't stop it. The rancid smell of decay hit me full force and made me gag. I swallowed the acid in my mouth and sucked in a fresh breath of air. I finally got my hand up and probed around the gunshot wound to my thigh.

It burned as I probed the swollen tissue with shaking fingers. I could feel the hot liquid dribbling over my fingers and down the side of my leg. I raised my hand to eye level and stared at the black-brown blood across my hand.

_Is this it? Is this where I die...all alone and inside a lab?_

_Figures as much...guess I can't be that surprised._

_It's my fault. If I only have listened to Jake and Sherry._

_If...if...if…_

So many 'ifs' ran through my mind. If I only tried harder. If I only listened more. If I only did it alone. I let Jake and Sherry down, and now I don't even know where they are or if they are even OK.

The acceptance tasted bitter in my mouth as I tried to swallow it. My head plopped to the side with a sigh; the cold metal soothed my cheek and burning skin as my eyes wandered around the room.

Metal tables with tools on them circled me. Medical equipment and computers lined the dark-grey walls and whiteboards with numbers and charts on them that I couldn't make out. It was mostly clean, aside from the water puddles here and there. It felt more like a submarine than a laboratory.

Then my eyes fell onto the computer screens. They were filled with charts and photos. I stared at the images closer. I sucked in a short breath as I made out the face of Jake's solemn stare and Sherry's soft glance.

I gathered the last of my strength and pried myself off the table into a sitting position. My back popped and cracked as I straightened up. My stomach rolled, and my head spun. I kicked my feet over the side and placed them on the floor, but my legs collapsed under me with the sudden weight. I latched onto the small metal table for support but brought it down with me in the process. My whimpers vibrated through my chest as I plucked myself up onto my elbows and dragged myself to the screens, cursing my body with every move.

My hands latched on to the desk as I clawed my way back up to my feet with a gasp and settled myself to read through the files. The pictures of Jake and Sherry were more apparent now, and I could make out the dates.

_These were taken months ago._

I flicked through the files; they talked about experiments and reported data findings collected over six months. I picked out words like _different strains_ , _enhanced virus_ , _immunity_ , and more. The files talked about mutations and his DNA's resilience when exposed to the virus-it even talked about reversing and healing infections.

"Wait…" I grabbed the ledge and leaned in closer. "There were signs of healing when mixed with the higher strain of the C-virus. It showed better improvements with the enhanced strain, but the process is still slow and minimal at best. Subjects exposed to the virus for a substantial amount of time had nearly one percent success rate."

_That means…_

My eyes travelled past the screen and to my blackened hands.

_...There is a way._

How? How do I manufacturer it? What do I need?

The questions screamed in my head as I read through the reports again. It talked about Jake and Sherry and their antibodies inside them. If spliced and combined right, it can form a new strain that is resilient to the C-virus and reverse the effects.

_I need a sample of their blood!_

My shoulders sagged as I stumbled away from the screen. My mind was quiet as my eyes dropped away from the screen and around the room. It was impossible...how was I supposed to get a sample of their blood if I don't even know where they are? My lips pinched together as I stared at the lab equipment.

Something red caught my attention inside one of the incubators. It glinted inside the small glass tubes as I limped my way over towards it. My heart perked up the closer I got. It looked like some kind of blood, but the colour was off with it. I opened the hatch and lifted out one of the tubes, and turned it over to read the tag.

_Wesker Jake. Blood sample. C-virus._

A bubble of laughter escaped my lips and felt foreign to my ears as I read over the vial again to make sure I saw it correctly. It was a sample of Jake's blood and the C-virus. Just like in the reports. Grabbing the vial, I made my way back over to the computer and scanned through the reports once more, trying to find any information on how to manufacturer a cure. After some more in-depth reading, it seems like I only have half of the needed strains and something about an enhanced C-virus strain.

_That's what this is, is it not?_

Something else picked at my brain. I gazed back down at the tube in my hand and re-read the tag over and over again.

_Wesker Jake...Jake...Wesker?_

_Wesker._

_...That name...I know it. I know it...but from where?_

Images of Jake with sunglasses and blond hair invaded my thoughts. Something was off with the picture, though; their smiles were different. This one was so cold and dead, just like the rest of him, that it chilled me to the bones. The red glint in his glasses halted the blood in my veins and made me want to shrink away into the darkness.

Clearing my throat, I shook off the dreadful feeling, secured the mixture away, pulled out my USB, and shoved it into the drive. I don't know if I'll make it back to this lab; if I can't, at least I'll have the files with me to use later.

I patted down my pocket with the USB and started for the door. I didn't see it with the other mixtures, so I guess they house them somewhere else? If not, I'm sure I could find the different strains and mix them myself; after all, I now have the files. I just wish I knew where Jake and Sherry were. We were taken together, so that must mean they are somewhere inside this place? As soon as I find the cure, I need to find those two and get the hell out of here and warn the BSAA.

The hallway leaked with dark water splashing at my feet, and the musky smell wafted in the air as my feet flicked down the dark hallway. Only a few lights hummed above, illuminating my path as I stared out the windows. It was dark outside. The only thing I could make out were the other parts of the building and the odd small fish swimming-

I stopped dead in my tracks and eyeballed the fish again. It swam higher until it was over the hall and crossed to the other side, where it vanished into the darkness. I stepped closer to the window and peered outside. What I had initially thought was the night sky, was in fact, water.

"Where am I?" I whispered out loud.

_This wasn't above ground...it was below the water-we were on a seabed!_

More fish and other small marine life swam by the windows, their glossy eyes reflecting in the low light and making them look like ghosts. I reeled back with a start and gulped down the rising panic and kept on walking. I don't know where they brought me, but it would be hell to try and get out of here wherever it is.

The sealed door clunked open, revealing a darkened room lit up only by the rows of lights mounted on the ceiling. Every room looked the same: dark-grey walls, grated floors and little to no lights. The doom and gloom vibe from this place was starting to settle in my mind. I hurried around the large metal table in the center and ignored the small blackened computer screens off to one side and found a door.

I held my breath and listened as footsteps clicked across the floor and started towards me. I didn't have any of my guns or knives-I don't think I would be able to hold them even if I did have them. My stomach knotted as I whirled around and scanned for a place to hide. The only thing I could find was the large metal table. I dashed towards it and crouched down just as the door clicked open, and two of Neo-umbrella's men stalked inside.

I stared at their masked cover faces and strange black suits. The lenses on their masks were blood-red, and they shifted across the room as they trickled inside and towards me. Their guns swiped across the room. I tucked myself closer to the table, hoping the top would cover me from sight. Fear paralyzed me to the spot when the first J'avo rounded the corner; its black feet squeaked in front of me as it neared the other side. I was about to shift to the other side of the table when another J'avo appeared on the opposite side. Its head swivelled around, checking behind itself as it neared the first J'avo. As soon as their backs were to me, I crept to the other side and let out the breath I held when their bodies disappeared through the door and out of sight.

Picking myself up, I eyed the door one last time before scurrying out the other and into the small hallway connecting to another row of doors. I checked the first room, poking my head inside first to make sure it was empty before going inside.

It was a medical room filled with four beds, like the one I was placed on. A medical cabinet stood off on the other side with boxes of papers beside it. I checked the shelves for any tubes or vials filled with serums, but the only thing I found was just some regular pain medications and unknown substances. Cursing, I checked through the cabinet but came to the same thing. It wasn't here.

I checked the other two rooms but came to the same results. Those were the only rooms I could find, but I found an elevator on the way into the hallway. It was my only choice. I opened the doors and peeked inside as I did with the other rooms before limping inside. As I waited for the doors to shut, shadows darted into the far hallway. The J'avo's masks' red eyes honed in on my face as they lifted their guns high and fired off. The shots pelted the wall above me, making me wince. Their growls and roars cut off as the doors locked, and the elevator began to ascend.

I heaved and huffed as I caught my breath, swiped the sweat from my forehead, and straightened. I prepared for the worst as the elevator came to a grinding halt and the metal doors swung open to reveal an empty hall. My feet shook as I took a step out, then another, until I was in the middle of the leaking hallway—no signs of J'avo...yet. I should keep going before they catch up.

I picked a way and started down it as fast as my body could carry me. The pounding in my head felt as if it was ripping me in half. I squeezed my eyes shut and stumbled around the poorly lit area, grabbing onto the wall to support myself as I went. My feet clanked across the grated flooring, adding more pain to my headache. I slowed to a stop as my fingers brushed against something cold and smooth. Prying my eyes open, I stared up at the wall made out of glass hectogon sections-as if it were a beehive. I stared through the glass and into the medical room inside. The equipment and containers glowered and eerie blue from an unknown light source.

My eyes flitted from one section to the next as I entered the room. The haunting blue light came from incubators sitting in the center of the laboratory. I snuck closer. I was unsure of what I was looking at as I studied the creatures inside. Inhuman-looking creatures dangled upside down from tubes and wires sticking out of them from every area. Their arms were wrapped tightly across their bodies like an Egyptian mummy and tipped with long dagger-like claws. The only thing on their fleshy faces was a cannibalistic smile carved into the flesh and lined with hundreds of small razor-sharp teeth.

I flung backwards as the vents above me kicked on, sending down a refreshing bout of cold air over my face. With a stiff laugh, I kept my eyes on the monsters as I passed them and started across the laboratory. Turning the corner, I found more incubators, but they were empty. I stared inside the tubes then over towards the screens showing x-rays and charts of mutations happening. Whatever it was that was in here, it's long gone now. My feet crunched over the broken glass from one incubator, the sound echoed off the walls around me and made me wince.

My hopes lifted as I spotted the container on the other side of the wall. Inside was a few vials of liquid that shimmered in the blue light. I raced over and tried to rip the door up, but it was locked with a code.

"Damn it!" I cursed out loud and slammed my hand on the glass. I could just make out the writing on the side of the vials. It was the other half of the serum required for the vaccine.

My eyes honed in on the keypad attached to the door then back to the vial. I need to find that passcode. Something moved in the reflection of the glass, making me freeze. The glint of the thing's teeth shined in the reflection as it cracked its mouth open wider. I spun around, but the sudden movement locked up my legs and making me fall on my backside. I gaped at the creature's fleshy face and gnarled smile carved into its face and dagger-like claws. It swiped at the air, missing me as I hurried farther away and backed up to my feet.

The creature let out a crackled-hiss, its body jerked and flung about as it dashed towards me. I tried to dart around it, but it blocked me off and led me closer into the corner. My heart hammered away in my ears; I could feel my blood pumping through every vein of my body. My back hit the metal wall, the cold seeping into my spine. The creature took a dash towards me, swinging its arm back and forth. I had just enough room to dodge to the side, but not fast enough to avoid the claws. It ripped through my arm, knocking me back as I clutched onto the wound with a grimace and watched as the creature dove headfirst into the wall and machinery.

Its body pulsated and jerked until its arm exploded into a larger claw and its head cracked back to form a gaping jaw. My vision swam as I flew to the side to avoid another swipe of its claws, the air whooshed over my head as I spun around. It plowed forward, overturning the equipment and hurling it across the room with a roar. My legs trembled under my weight, screaming out for a break as I ran through the room. It hacked and sliced the air and side of the incubators as I dodged around. My mind spun, and my thoughts were a jumbled mess of screams and curses.

I tripped back into the container housing the vials with a cry, my breath heavy as I swiped away the blood dripping from my mouth. Everything screamed for me to collapse, but I held on by a thread. My eyes cracked open and caught the creature's reflection behind me. It lifted its claw high above and threw it down. I fell to the side and covered my face as broken glass from the container rained down on me.

When I opened my eyes, the creature screamed out in pain as it tried to rip its arm out of the container. My heart stopped as I saw the broken vials leaking out over the floor and through the cracks. The creature tore its arm free with a scream and reeled back onto me. Its mouth cracked open into a howl and ran towards me. I threw myself down with a cry as the creature ripped through the machines and cut through the wires. Its body exploded into flames, the creature roaring as it tried to free itself. Burnt flesh pierced the air and made me gag as it ripped and spasmed around until finally collapsing to the floor with a hiss. I stared at its mangled and burnt body with a heavy breath and picked myself back up to my feet.

I spared it one more glance and ripped away and over to the container where the samples were. My heart collapsed at the sight of the broken vials; their liquid drained out across the machine, like my hope. Then, one cap stuck out from the holding section. I threw the broken samples to the side and plucked it up with a cry. There were two samples left! And they looked to be in perfect condition.

I took the vials and hurried over to the computer, ignoring the new pain spreading through my arm where the fresh wound bled. The smell of iron didn't slow me down as I put a copy of the files onto the computer and opened them right away. A flashing light in the corner of the screen caught my attention; Clicking it, a screen opened up about a warning. The facility wasn't stable, and everyone needed to evacuate right now.

"...What?" I stared at the screen, hoping to get more information on what has been going on, but all it mentioned was HAOS was released. "HAOS?"

My eyes flickered over the screens and down to the bay below. The laboratory overlooked what appeared to be some kind of large holding bay or warehouse of some sort. Water filled the floor and reflected off the spotlights above where I noticed two large guns dangling above.

_I wonder how I can access those?_

I shook my head and got back to the files. "Hope my chemistry knowledge will be enough to figure this out." I gave a dry laugh as I clicked through the files.

I placed the vials inside the machine with shaking hands and clicked the buttons. The mechanical arm jerked to life and swirled around. It plucked up one of the tubes and fitted it inside the hole and retracted its arm to grab the other sample. I watched as both samples emptied into one canister and spun at an alarming rate before coming to an abrupt stop. The arm reached in, grabbed the new mixture and placed it in a cooling agent for a moment before grabbing it once more and filling it up inside a needle and dispensing it in the extraction chamber. The small metal door clicked open and produced the syringe. I stared at it, wide-eyed, for a moment and plucked it up and brought it to my face. The purple liquid sloshed around inside like liquid gold. I was shocked at how easy that seemed.

Gently, I placed it on the counter by the computers and eased my sleeve up to my elbow. The black skin peeled away as puss from the spores exploded across my arm and down to the floor. Holding my breath, I picked up the syringe and pricked the needle into the vein.

An alarm blasted overhead, causing me to jump and wretch my head over to the bay doors below. Two shapes squeezed under the flood doors as they closed and darted inside. My attention drifted past the two men and over towards the groaning doors. Something large snaked its way under and pried it open like it was nothing more than an aluminum can. My mouth dried up as the creature's face appeared and ripped its way inside and letting the doors slam shut behind it, where it dragged itself to the middle.

Gunshots pelted the air, and the sound of the men barking orders to each other as they dodged an arm swipe from the monster. I couldn't turn away from its face as its electric blue, lidless eyes glinted through its exposed skull's sockets. Only a thin, transparent layer of flesh covered its head, showing the pulsating red veins underneath. The creature dragged itself across the floor, using its skeletal arms to hoist it up as the mess of flesh behind it twitched. I gaged as I took in the sight of its body. It looked like an unfinished fetus, but a monstrous fetus.

The human forms below darted past the swipes and assault from the creature; one was limping badly and holding his arm as he spun around and lifted his rifle to shot at the creature's face.

"PIERS!" My grip on the needle slipped as the monster grabbed him in his grasp and whipped him into some cargo crates. The sound of his back slamming into the metal cracked out as loud as the syringe breaking at my feet.

My head tore down to my feet and stared agape at the purple liquid seeping through the cracks. My eyes bulged, and my mouth clamped shut. The world tilted around me, and I felt sick to my stomach. I gaped at the mess then back up to Chris and Piers then back over to the spare sample.

_I could race back and see if there is another sample of Jake's blood. I could mix another batch up. I still got time!_

I dragged my eyes off the sample and back down into the bay. All my thoughts silenced as the creature grabbed Chris and brought him up to his face. Chris twitched and clawed at hand to break free, his gasps of breath reaching up to me.

Piers was still slumped against the cargo crate. He was trying to push himself up, but his legs gave out, making him crash to the floor. I winced as he tried to stand again, but he slipped with a cry and slammed into the floor.

I ignored their cries as I frantically typed in codes into the computer, trying to bring up anything to help them. I clicked through the files, scanning everything until I came to one called _containment_. I didn't care-I slammed the button and reeled back as the guns above came to life and honed in on the creature. A gunshot fired off, sending out a blue stream that snapped in the air and struck the creature across the face and sending it hurtling into the wall.

Chris crashed down with a thud, but the man was resilient and backed up on his feet instantly and racing towards Piers. An erratic sigh escaped my lips but froze as the creature clawed it's way back to its feet. Its head swivelled off from the two men and over towards me. I gulped as it belted out an earsplitting roar, raced forward, grabbed the metal container and whipped it across the room.

My limbs didn't respond to me any longer; I watched in horror as the container smashed through the lab windows, knocking out the equipment and the flooring in its path. The platform holding the laboratory up groaned and cracked in half, sending one half of the room crashing below. I tried to move but slipped when the half I was standing on started to crumble. The debris crashed into me, pushing me over the ledge. I fell with a scream, hitting the catwalk on the way down and crashing into the shallow water below.

My head whipped against the floor, throwing my body into a fit. A large electric jolt ripped through my body and mind, throwing me into a cluster of spasms as I tried to keep control. I faded in and out, watching as the lights above me blackened and exploded with light. It was like being in autopilot but feeling everything, every twinge of pain and shock as my body jerked around. Shadows danced across my vision, the sounds of screaming overwhelmed me, but I couldn't turn my head or eyes to see where it was coming from. The spasms finally stopped, but I could no longer feel my body; I was locked inside it.

My vision came and went through the roars, blurring and focusing on the lights above until a shadow appeared. My eyes cleared, and I studied Piers' pinched and strained face as he stared down at me. He reached down and started to shake me, his lips were moving, but I couldn't make out a single sound. A burn blotched the skin on his neck and smouldered through his left shoulder, where dried blood stained his BSAA insignia. More blood trickled down the side of his face, but I kept my eyes focused on his lips. They thinned and pulled back, but I couldn't hear a thing.

He tore his head up and screamed something. It was faint, but I could hear a massive explosion and feel the vibrations through the ground, and in an instant, Chris was beside Piers staring down at me with his dirtied and sweat-slicked face. His gaze darted across my face; his eyes narrowed and carved into his pale face. It was a look I've never seen on him before. It reminded me of our encounter in Edonia, but not since then. He said something tp Piers, making the latter man nod his head and ease himself to his full height.

Chris patted my shoulder and said something to me, but my ears were still ringing from the explosion and the crash. He scooped me up, causing an involuntary cry to escape my mouth, making both men stop to stare at me. Chris eased me against him while Piers limped ahead, dragging his bad leg behind as he opened the metal door and held it open for Chris.

It was hard to see anything, but I could see Piers raising his gun and firing off at J'avo as Chris raced ahead with me out of the corner of my eye. Every move made my lungs jerk and a moan escape. It was a weird sensation, like being locked in a tomb, but still feeling its weight crushing me. Black spots darted across my vision, knocking it in and out of focus as we stomped along down the tunnels. Distant cries and howls coaxed along my ears, making me shudder.

Piers showed signs of stress and fatigue; his arms shook as he lifted his gun, and his shoulders sagged, but he still held up as he powered through. In one instant, he turned his eyes over to me, the lines on his forehead, carving deep into his forehead as our eyes locked. My heart stopped every time he collapsed. He dropped his gun and grabbed his arm and clamped his eyes shut, but I could feel Chris telling him something. The vibrations of his heavy voice boomed across my body. Piers nodded his head, clutched his gun and pried himself back up with a nod and kept going. That happened two more times, each time taking longer than the last. Piers' face was grey and pale when we reached what appeared to be an emergency exit.

Piers collapsed a fourth time with a cry and grabbed his arm and pulled it away to reveal fresh blood. His head thunked against the wall with a groan. The ringing in my ears subsided a while ago, allowing me to hear some sounds again. I could hear Chris telling Piers to watch over me as he got a pod ready and lowered me into the latter man's lap.

It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest; It was tight and painful and nearly impossible to breathe as I stared up at Piers' face. He was stiff as he tried not to move, and his hand shook under my neck as he kept my head propped up.

"Just...keep your eyes open. Don't fall asleep, yea hear?" He mumbled through his pain and tried to even out his breath. It fanned across my cold face, warming me up for a moment before being left with chills again. His eyes snapped shut as he hissed through the pain.

Every ounce of energy I had was put into reaching into my pocket and clutching the USB stick. Piers watched silently as my hand brushed against his chest, asking him to grab it. He clasped my hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze before realizing what I was doing. He grabbed the USB stick, staring at it a moment, and leaned in close as I opened my mouth. My voice was less than a whispered gurgle as I coughed out, "C...c...u...er..."

It was like the lights were flicked off. My body felt light, and my eyes were heavy. Piers' face morphed into panic as he tried to stir me. When my eyes did reopen, the last thing I recall was Chris and Piers' face hovering above me, and the light of the sun kissing the side of my face.


End file.
